In 21 of the states in America, adultery isn’t just a crime in the eyes of the spouse but is also against the law. One North Carolina man learned this lesson last Thursday. The punishment for adultery varies from state to state; some classifying adultery as a misdemeanor, others consider it a Class B misdemeanor and some even a Class I felony.
Francisco Huizar III came in between the marriage of Keith and Danielle King, destroying their marriage during a 16-month relationship with Danielle King. After Mr. King discovered the affair, he filed a lawsuit against Francisco Huizar III, which results in Francisco being ordered to pay Keith King $8.8 million.
Keith King filed charges stating criminal conversation, alienation of affection, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and assault and battery. Criminal charges were also levied against Huizar due to the fact that there was no proof that the Kings were unhappy before Danielle had embarked on the affair.
The $8.8 million dollars Mr. King received consisted of $6.6 million in punitive damages, which are primarily meant to penalize the defendant. The other $2.2 million was intended to compensate King for the tangible damages from Mr. Huizar III’s actions. Joanne Foil, King’s Attorney, said after King found out about the ongoing affair between his wife and Francisco Huizar III, it caused his company to lose revenue as well as one employee-his former wife.
Back in 2015, Danielle King, previously Danielle Swords, and Francisco Huizar III met at a bike show, hosted by her husband’s company, King BMX Stunt Shows, a little over five years after Danielle and former husband, Keith, got married. Huizar III was working at the event but was residing in Texas. Foil told CNN in an email that Huizar had pursued Danielle.
In the months following the King BMX Stunt Shows, Huizar continuously relocated himself whenever he could to put himself in the same vicinity of Danielle. When she was living with her husband at the King’s residence, Huizar would rent a room right down the street from them. Mr. King even treated his former wife to a spa day, in which Huizar joined Mrs. King without her husband’s knowledge. Even when Keith treated Danielle to a trip for her birthday, Huizar went as well and stayed in a nearby hotel, according to King’s attorney, Joanne Foil.
Mr. King’s first sign of Danielle and Huizar’s affair was when he noticed some inappropriate text messages between the two. Things escalated, as proven in a video recording taken by Danielle, to a physical altercation between Keith King and Francisco Huizar III. Huizar allegedly put King in a chokehold after King had become irate, which resulted in the assault and battery charge against Huizar.
During the court hearing, Keith King was able to provide proof of the affair with call logs, hotel receipts, and social media posts. Though Mr. King ultimately won, Huizar’s attorney, Cheri Patrick, claimed Huizar did not break up their marriage and stated it was already in harm and declining before the affair began.
“Verdicts like these ignore the realities of how and why marriages fail and remove personal responsibility for a person’s own marriage,” Partick said. “There are no winners in these cases.”
King states he was originally trying to save the marriage for his daughter but it could not be saved. Mr. King later learned about North Carolina’s adultery laws. “My marriage was murdered. It was destroyed,” said King.
