A 47-year-old Taunton man who repeatedly violently assaulted his girlfriend and violated a restraining order on multiple occasions was sentenced last week in Fall River Superior Court to serve three to five years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
Scott Williams pleaded guilty to a multi-count indictment charging him with three counts of assault and battery on a household member, two counts of strangulation, two counts of intimidation of a witness, and one count each of threats and violation of a restraining order.
The defendant and the victim were in a dating relationship. During the course of the relationship, the defendant became more and more abusive. The victim would routinely appear at work with bruises and other injuries but historically would not report the abuse. Finally, in November 2017, Taunton Police were called to the victim’s workplace. The victim told police of the abuse and stated that the night prior, the defendant beat her badly by repeatedly punching her in the face and choking her until she thought she was going to pass out. She also told police that in August, the defendant had struck her, choked her, and ripped out a clump of her hair during an argument. She told police she was fearful of proceeding with any charges at the time because the defendant had threatened to kill her if she called the police.
The victim obtained a restraining order, which the defendant promptly violated by sending several letters to her from the house of corrections during his pretrial detention. The defendant was held as a danger after his arraignment. While he was at the Bristol County House of Corrections, he wrote several letters to the victim in violation of the open restraining order. Each letter referenced the restraining order and the defendant repeatedly asked the victim to drop the charges. He also attempted to call the victim by phone on several occasions.
During a plea hearing held before Judge Renee Dupuis, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Thompson argued that due to the defendant’s lengthy criminal record and the repeated nature of the abuse, the defendant should be sentenced to serve four to six years in state prison. The defendant, however, requested a more lenient two-and-a-half to three year prison term.
Judge Dupuis sentenced the defendant to serve three to five years in state prison, to be followed by five years of supervised probation. The conditions of his probation include mandatory mental health counseling, no contact with the victim, GPS monitoring, and the completion of a certified batterers program.
“The victim was subjected to repeated violent assaults over a lengthy period of time. I commend her for finally coming forward and reporting the repeated acts of abuse, including the savage act of ripping her hair out, “District Attorney Quinn said. “The sentence imposed by the court was well-deserved, and hopefully will protect the victim in this case.”
