A woman that began a sexual relationship with a man she met on the Internet, that soon led to a sexual assault, saw her abuser receive a possible lifetime prison sentence after a Windham County jury found him guilty of domestic violence, as reported by the Rutland Herald from Brattleboro, South Vermont.
The victim, unidentified by reporters, had moved in with D.P. in his home in Brattleboro in November 2011 after knowing him for a short time. She has since returned to her home in New York, however, she traveled back to Brattleboro to be at the trial.
It took the jury just over four hours to find D.P. guilty of sexual assault and domestic violence; he was found innocent of kidnapping and unlawful restraint.
Deputy State Attorney David Gartenstein credited the jury for taking into account all of the testimony presented and deciding what was believable. Gartenstein said that both the victim and D.P. testified and were cross-examined.
Gartenstein, experienced in handling sex crimes for Windham County said, "The jury in the case had to consider conflicting evidence which was presented by the state and defense. After carefully considering all the evidence, the jury made its credibility determination and made its decision. We thank them for their work."
The victim met D.P. online in August 2011. Three months later she had moved into his home.
On the night of December 1, D.P. returned home to find himself confronted by the victim, who demanded to know about another woman's name she saw on his cell phone. The questioning led to an argument. The victim then claimed that D.P. grew violent. D.P. allegedly hit her, took away her keys and then repeatedly sexually assaulted her.
By 1 a.m. that morning the victim was able to get her keys from D.P., got into her car, and drove back to New York.
Allegedly the victim drove past the Vermont State Police barracks, in West Brattleboro, but because she was so frightened she failed to stop.
According to court records, once the victim was in New York she spoke about the incident with both her sister and her minister. From there she entered a hospital to be treated and contacted the police.
Joanne Baltz, an attorney with the Windham County Public Defender's office that represented D.P., said that she wasn't confident that the victim's story was wholly the truth. She noted that at some point, as the victim fled to New York, D.P. followed her and she waved at him – the way you would wave to a friend.
According to Baltz, the trip that J.P. took, just after the attack, was to see the same woman that the victim had confronted him about. He spent five days in Maine with the other woman. When he returned to Vermont, and learned that the police had been looking for him, he turned himself in.
Since the arrest J.P. has been remanded to jail without bail.
If convicted, J.P. faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Judge David Suntag has ordered a pre-sentence investigation. Sentencing is due to take place within 90 days.
Break the cycle of abuse by contacting a family law attorney to best help you with a domestic violence case.