Man draws prison for domestic abuse

A Philly man’s acts of domestic violence, including beating and choking a Norristown woman, landed him in prison.

NORRISTOWN >> A Philadelphia man’s repeated acts of domestic violence, including beating and choking a Norristown woman and threatening her with a knife, landed him in state prison.

Sean Matthew Johnson, 28, of the 3500 block of Cresson Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 4-to8-years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated assault and strangulation in connection with multiple incidents that occurred between August and September 2018 at the woman’s Norristown residence.

Judge Risa Vetri Ferman also ordered Johnson to complete four years’ probation following parole, meaning Johnson will be under court supervision for 12 years.

Johnson must complete anger management and domestic violence counseling programs and will be placed under addiction and mental health supervision while serving the sentence, the judge added.

During the investigation, the woman reported that over the course of several weeks she was “repeatedly physically assaulted” by Johnson when he visited her residence in the 500 block of Cherry Street, according to the criminal complaint filed by Norristown Detective James Angelucci.

Johnson, according to the arrest affidavit, entered the woman’s residence through a backdoor on Aug. 27 “tied her up with an electrical cord, stripped her clothes off and poked her with a knife.” The woman told police Johnson held a knife to her throat and also struck her multiple times with a belt.

During other assaults on other days, Johnson punched the victim in the ribs and choked her to the point she could not breathe, detectives alleged.

The woman reported that on Sept. 18, Johnson “went crazy” and struck her on the head with a vodka bottle, wrapped a charger cord around her neck to choke her and struck her with a closed fist, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators observed large bruises and lacerations on the woman’s body, according to court papers.

By pleading guilty to aggravated assault, Johnson admitted that he attempted to cause or caused serious bodily injury to the woman under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.