Man pleads guilty to assault for strangling pregnant woman in Augusta

AUGUSTA — A former Augusta man who strangled a pregnant woman and threatened to kill her pleaded guilty in court Monday to domestic violence assault and domestic violence criminal threatening charges.

Patrick Sullivan

Patrick Sullivan, 24, was sentenced to 364 days in jail, with all of that suspended, meaning he won’t have to spend any time in jail if he complies with the conditions of his two-year probation.

The probation conditions include that he undergo a substance abuse and mental health evaluation, and comply with any treatment recommended after that evaluation. He also is required to complete a certified batterers intervention program and have no contact with the victim.

On Aug. 25, 2020, Sullivan pulled a woman to the ground by her hair at her Augusta apartment, then twice strangled her, applying pressure to her neck and causing her to barely be able to breathe, according to an affidavit filed by Augusta Police Officer Sebastian Guptill.

As he held her in a chokehold, the affidavit stated, Sullivan told her he would end her life.

The woman punched Sullivan in the face and got free, Guptill wrote. She told police she then ran for the front door of the apartment, but Sullivan prevented her from leaving by putting her in another chokehold.

She said he released her when she screamed that she did not want him to harm her in front of her child, who was in the apartment. The woman told police she ran for the kitchen as Sullivan followed her, then picked up the child and also grabbed a steak knife from the kitchen, which she said she held out in front of her as she left the apartment.

The woman was treated for minor injuries and released from MaineGeneral Medical Center, according to Augusta police.

A felony charge of aggravated assault was dismissed as part of a plea agreement in which Sullivan pleaded guilty to the two misdemeanors of domestic violence assault and domestic violence criminal threatening.

In an unrelated case, a man who tackled another man at a Vassalboro campground in August and simulated a sexual act on him pleaded guilty to assault and unlawful sexual touching. The unlawful sexual touching charge will be dismissed in six months if Brian Fitton, 38, complies with the terms of a deferred disposition.

Fitton was sentenced on the misdemeanor assault charge to 14 days in jail with credit for time he’s already served and a $300 fine.

If Fitton complies with the terms of his deferred disposition agreement, he will be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea to the unlawful sexual touching charge, according to Assistant District Attorney Kristin Murray-James, and that charge will be dismissed.

The terms of the agreement include having no contact with the victim, not using or possessing alcohol and obtaining psychological counseling.

If Fitton does not comply with the agreed upon terms, he would be subject to a to-be-determined sentence on that misdemeanor charge.

He entered the open camper door of the victim who was camping at Green Valley Campground, grabbed him, and tackled him onto a bed where the victim landed face down and then felt Fitton grab him around the hips and start to simulate a sexual act before others entered the camper, according to an affidavit filed by Kennebec County Deputy Devin Polizzotti.

Fitton told police that he was playing around, but acknowledged he may have taken the incident too far. He first told police he had walked into the camper, pushed the victim on the bed and walked off. When asked about the simulated sexual act, Fitton told police that they could “say that may have happened” but it “wasn’t meant that way,” according to the affidavit.