The Lowell Sun reported that James Loughran will was sentenced to 3-4 years at the Massachusetts Correction Center (M.C.I.) at Cedar Junction for beating his girlfriend and fracturing her eye socket. Read Article, Lowell Sun September 1, 2008. According to the prosecution, on January 24, 2008 police responded to Loughran’s home after receiving a 911 call. Loughran answered the door but pretended not to speak English. Eventually the defendant allowed the police to enter the apartment. They could hear his girlfriend calling for help from another room and when they located her lying on the apartment floor. She was found bleeding from the mouth and nose. One of her eyes was swollen shut. Loughran was eventually charged with assault and battery causing serious injury and intimidation of a witness.
Crimes like this in Massachusetts are more commonly known as domestic violence. This occurs when a partner or family member tries to overpower another either physically or emotionally. Domestic violence can refer to spousal relationships, intimate partners or people living together. Massachusetts recognizes that both men and women can commit acts of domestic violence. The violent act can by physical or emotional. It can take the form of threats or intimidation. In Massachusetts people committing domestic acts that involve violence or other criminal behavior are often charged with crimes like assault and battery or intimidation of a witness as was Loughran.
Loughran was charged with aggravated assault and battery. In Massachusetts this is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in state prison. The elements that must be proven by the prosecution in this case were that Loughran committed an assault and battery that cause serious bodily injury. Serious bodily injury has been defined as causing permanent disfigurement, loss of bodily function or limb or a substantial risk of death. Intimidation of a witness in Massachusetts is punishable by as much as 10 years in state prison. A prosecution under this statute requires the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intimidated someone who was a witness in a criminal proceeding or investigation.
Stephen Neyman is a Massachusetts Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer with 20 years of experience defending people accused of committing acts that fall under the umbrella of domestic violence. Call us immediately if you have been charged with this or any other type of crime.
Related Web Resources:
Lowell, Massachusetts Domestic Violence Defense Attorneys, Kathleen M. McCarthy