AUGUSTA — A Benton man who punched and strangled his wife while their daughter watched in horror was sentenced Wednesday to 22 years behind bars.

Derek Taylor

Derek Taylor, 40, was found guilty earlier this year in two separate jury trials, on charges of domestic violence aggravated assault, domestic violence assault, violating conditions of release, and domestic violence criminal threatening. Superior Court Justice Julia Lipez said Taylor has an “abysmal” criminal history going back more than 20 years and including three prior domestic violence assaults and other violent crimes.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with all but 22 years suspended, on the most serious, a Class A charge of domestic violence aggravated assault, as well as a consecutive four year sentence, all suspended, on the criminal threatening charge. The sentences will be followed by 10 years of probation. If he violates the conditions of his probation, he could serve another seven years in prison.

Lipez said the seriousness of Taylor’s actions were major aggravating factors to be considered in sentencing. Taylor strangled his wife to the point she couldn’t breathe after he punched her in the head and she went into a Benton home to get her daughter and dog to safety. The judge considered the impact on the victim and her 16-year-old daughter, who has a developmental disability and who witnessed the attack and could be heard on a 911 call pleading with authorities for help and saying her dad was hurting her mother.

The victim, who was not present for Wednesday’s sentencing, was injured in the attack, suffering dizziness and nausea for weeks, and was left so in fear that when her current romantic partner moves near her, she flinches and covers her face, as if she’s being attacked again, Lipez said.

Prosecutor Jake Demosthenes, an assistant district attorney, said the admittedly long sentence was appropriate given the facts of the cases. Taylor has a long history of violent crimes and violating probation, the impact on the victim, and because he has shown no remorse and lied on the witness stand and claimed the victim was the aggressor and he was the victim.

“The defendant is convicted of strangling his wife in front of her own child, and that child had to call 911,” Demosthenes said in arguing for a total 29-year sentence. “The court needs to send a message if you strangle your wife, after a lifetime of criminal convictions, you will not get leniency.”

Taylor’s attorney, Dan Dube, said he plans to immediately appeal the sentence, as it’s far too severe, and out of line with other, similar cases in Maine in recent years.

“These were serious charges but that’s a very high sentence. The sentence is stratospheric,” Dube said outside the courtroom after the sentencing.

Dube sought a sentence of the 14 months in jail Taylor spent awaiting trial, with probation conditions barring him from contact with his wife, other than for legal purposes including filing for a divorce, and focusing on treatment for substance use disorder.

Dube said in court that Taylor did show remorse and sorrow for his crimes, when he cried on the witness stand while at trial. He said Taylor successfully took part in a suboxone program while in jail to address his substance use disorder, and is 40 years old and ready to put his criminal history behind him. He also said Taylor’s elderly mother, who was in court but did not testify, relies upon him for assistance and emotional support.

Taylor declined to address the court, telling Lipez that he didn’t know what he would say, if he did.

His criminal history of 14 convictions dating to 2002 includes a 2019 conviction for domestic violence assault for strangling and punching a Waterville woman in a heated argument after she refused to buy him more beer.

In January, Taylor grabbed his wife by her hair and held his fist up like he was going to punch her, after apparently being unhappy with a meal she’d prepared, Demosthenes said. She defended herself with a spatula.

Then in August, while on bail on criminal threatening charges due to that incident, Taylor and the woman fought inside a Benton mobile home, while the daughter slept, and the victim asked to take the argument outside. Once outside the argument escalated and Taylor punched the woman on top of her head, causing swelling on her forehead, a Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office Deputy reported.

Demosthenes said the woman went back inside the home to get her child and dog to safety, but then Taylor refused to let her leave. She pushed past him but he took her to the ground, punched her, and strangled her, with the victim reporting she had blurry vision and couldn’t breathe.

Taylor, wearing a green Kennebec County Correctional Facility uniform with his legs shackled, waved and smiled at his mother as he entered the courtroom. He later expressed disbelief at the length of his sentence.

His probation conditions include having no contact with the victim; no possession of firearms, drugs or alcohol; and participation in substance use disorder and domestic violence prevention programs.