9 months for banker who beat wife




Craig Noell

Craig Noell

One-time Goldman Sachs executive Craig Noell has been sentenced to nine months in jail for pummeling his wife in a 2015 attack at a Westlake office complex.

In custody since his June conviction for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse—he was acquitted of the far more serious charge of attempted murder— Noell could be out in less than three months with credit for time served and good behavior.

“This was a brutal attack,” Ventura County Superior Court Judge Anthony Sabo said Aug. 19 before handing down the sentence of 270 days of jail time plus four years of formal probation. “There was pummeling. There was strangulation that took place,” he said.

Sabo said if onlookers had not intervened, there’s no telling how long the 30-second attack would have gone on.

Under the law, Noell, a father of three who was involved in a bitter custody dispute with his victim at the time of the attack, could have served a maximum sentence of two years behind bars.

Before the sentencing, prosecutor Thomas Steele argued for more hard time.

“It’s important to note it took place in public, it took place in front of other people,” he said. “It didn’t matter.

“The temper, the rage is who he is,” Steele said.

The deputy district attorney said Noell actually views himself as the victim and has shown little remorse.

“He was angry and was going to exact the punishment he thought she deserved,” he said, adding later, “That’s how he feels: He was well within his rights to beat the living hell out of her because he is the victim.”

Noell’s attorney, veteran litigator Leslie Abramson, described her client’s ex-wife as “an extremely manipulative person” who said intentionally incendiary things to Noell and was depriving him of spending time with his daughter, the latter pushing him into a “terrible depression.”

After listing some things he wouldn’t consider in sentencing, including the 56-year-old’s wealth, his education and Abramson’s “unprofessional” conduct during the trial, Sabo said he was considering the fact Noell has no prior convictions of a violent act or anything else. The judge also said he was looking at what brings more justice for the victim and what offers her the most protection.

Noell’s ex-wife submitted a note to the court requesting a sentence of probation under house arrest.

In addition to his probation and remaining days in jail, Noell will have to undergo a year’s worth of domestic violence counseling and pay thousands of dollars in fees. Restitution will be determined at a later date.