Serial Batterer Sentenced to State Prison and Probation

Cape Cod Times in Barnstable has reported that Francis Davis, 28, has been convicted in a battering case and will receive a 7 to 10 year state prison sentence, with an additional five years of probation afterwards.

Described by several former girlfriends as a serial batterer, Davis has also been ordered, by Superior Court Judge Robert Rufo, to notify his probation officer of any involvements he has with women during his five-year-long probation.

The judge also stipulated that any women that do choose to involve themselves with Davis also must be forewarned of his abuse record. 

These additional requirements, tacked onto the probation by the judge, are considered to be somewhat unorthodox.

Davis, a stonemason from Provincetown, was convicted by a Barnstable Superior Court jury of kidnap, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery and threat to commit a crime.

The jury heard three days of testimony from police, one former girlfriend and a domestic violence expert.  The jury came back with their judgment after 5 hours of deliberations.

Though only one former girlfriend testified, there were four more women in the courtroom, that Davis allegedly abused, that attended to lend support to his latest victim.

Lisa Edmonds, Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney and head of the DA's Domestic Violence Unit, said that the current victim, 29, dated Davis off and on for eight years.

Craig Nickerson, defense attorney for Davis, believes that his client will appeal the conviction.  He also thought, though unusual, that Judge Rufo's terms for his client's probation weren't beyond legal confines.  He said, "I've never seen that as a condition, but it does not seem to step outside the law."

In July of 2009 Davis allegedly kidnapped and beat his current girlfriend.  He then pressed a gun to her head and threatened to kill her, and her family, if she didn't immediately acquiesce to his demands.   He was subsequently arrested by Provincetown police in the incident.

Davis's court records show that a minimum of nine women had, at one point or another during their relationship with him, taken out restraining orders against him.  He also has other arrests for violating restraining orders, assault and battery and drug possession.

His history as a repeat offender was taken in earnest and impacted the decisions made by both judge and jury.

Lysetta Hurge-Putman, an executive director of Independence House in Hyannis, was allowed by the judge to testify in the case as an expert on domestic violence.

Of Hurge-Putman's testimony Edmonds commented, "I think that was a big help to the jury in understanding the cycle of violence and the characteristics of an abusive relationship.  There are complex dynamics in these relationships that often make it difficult for the abused person to leave."

Have you, or someone you hold dear, ever been hurt or been threatened with harm in a domestic abuse situation?  Don't wait; click here to contact a family law attorney in our directory for help with your case today!