D.A. Won't File Charges Against Former O.C. Supe Chris Norby

By PAUL ANDERSON

City News Service

Prosecutors declined today to file charges against former assemblyman and Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby, whose estranged wife accused him of domestic violence, resulting in his March 12 arrest.

Since then, she has accused him of physical and verbal abuse dating back to 2010 in court papers seeking a temporary restraining order. Norby, in turn, filed for divorce.

Susan Kang Schroeder, chief of staff for the Orange County District Attorney's Office, confirmed that prosecutors decided against filing charges, but declined further comment.

Norby's attorney, David Borsari, said his 64-year-old client "is extremely relieved, not surprisingly," adding, "He still has a deep love for his stepchildren and his biological child."

Norby and his 36-year-old estranged wife Ziomara have a 2-year-old son and have been married about five years. He has temporary visitation set up for a couple of hours per day with court supervision under the terms of a temporary restraining order, Borsari said.

Now that he's clear of criminal charges, Norby can now testify in the divorce and temporary restraining case pending in Family Law Court, his attorney said.

Norby denied his estranged wife's allegations in court papers and vowed that he will be vindicated.

Her court papers allege that on March 12, she was holding their toddler, Jonathan, when her husband "got upset and started arguing with me and tried taking my son."

"I lefts (sic) the kitchen and he pushed me with force with the side of his shoulder," she alleges. "I went outside and he continued harassing me while I was watering the flowers. He was yelling at me and my son was shaking of fear because I had him in my arms."

Ziomara Norby also claims Norby has told his stepchildren and biological son that they "are no longer going to have a house or food if they stay with me. My children are scared," according to court documents.

She alleges the "first incident" of abuse occurred on Sept. 2, 2010, and left her with bruising on her legs and arms.

"He started arguing with me and was yelling at me," she said in a statement seeking domestic violence assistance. "I was two weeks pregnant and he squeezed my arms and legs very hard and placed his knees on my legs."

A gardener alerted police, who took photos but did not arrest Norby, she said.

"Days later, he called the media and told me to tell them that I was crying because I am very emotional," Ziomara Norby alleges in her court papers.

"He forced me to say that to the media and I told them what he told me to say because I was afraid. He abuses me every day; he insults me and calls me a (expletive)."

She further alleges, "He says I do not speak good English and tells his friends to have sex with me. He sexually abused me on Dec. 17, 2013, and verbally abuses me in front of the baby and my children."

In the alleged Dec. 17 incident, she claims he "grabbed me by my shoulders and threw me to the ground. He forced my underwear off and sexually abused me while calling me a whore."

Borsari claimed that Ziomara Norby, whose known as Martha by her husband, punched her husband in the eye. He not report it to police, though he did tell an eye doctor on Christmas Eve that his injury was a result of "spousal abuse," Borsari said.

Last month, Norby told City News Service that he and his children "have been subjected to a terrible injustice, but I'm confident when the truth comes out it, will be made right. I'm looking for that day and I know it will come. It may take awhile, but it will come."

He added, "When the facts come out, they're very clear and they will show a pattern that will vindicate me completely and right the injustice temporarily done. It's especially sad for the kids."

Norby is a former mayor of Fullerton and member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. He was elected to the 65th Assembly District seat in a 2010 special election and was defeated by Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva in 2012.