A Fort Washakie man is facing possible prison time for assaulting his girlfriend, who is also the mother of his children.
Denver Lee John is charged with assault and attempted assault by strangulation and suffocation and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine in connection with the incident that occurred almost three years ago.
According to court documents, the victim was interviewed by the FBI earlier this year regarding an incident involving her and John in December 2018.
The victim said that she and John were in their Fort Washakie home when they began fighting. She remembered that at some point during the fight, she was on the floor, screaming, and John was holding her neck from behind and choking her.
She told the FBI agent that “things started to get dark,” that she started to see spots and could not breathe. She also recalled her body going limp, as if she was going to sleep.
The victim said when she regained consciousness, her children were present. One was crying and asked if she was OK. The victim did not report the incident to police because she was afraid of John, she told the FBI agent.
One of the victim’s children was interviewed about the incident and she confirmed seeing John choke her mother and that he only stopped when she lost consciousness.
The girl also confirmed that the children were around to witness the incident and that she had taken a short video of it on her cell phone.
The 11-second video contained audio of shouting and John telling the victim to “knock it off.” John is also seen with his arm around the victim’s neck.
Children can also be seen and heard in the video.
