A Leonardtown man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection with a domestic violence incident last year. Joseph R. Curtis, II, 28, was sentenced Tuesday in St. Mary’s County Circuit Court by Judge Karen Abrams. Judge Abrams found Curtis guilty of First- and Second-Degree Assault, Sex Offense First Degree and False Imprisonment after a court trial on October 23 of last year.

The victim in the case was Chase’s girlfriend with whom he had lived for ten years and with whom they had two children. The woman left their house on Holland Lane two days before the incident on June 10 of last year and returned to pick up some things. The following was the police report issued by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department at the time of the incident:

“A female victim came to the Sheriff’s Office to report a domestic / sexual assault on June 10. BCI was contacted and Detective First Class Ashley Croyle of the Sheriff’s Office Domestic Violence Unit spoke with the victim. The victim stated she had been in a verbal confrontation with a known acquaintance who grabbed her by her hair and struck her several times in the face and body. The victim ran inside the residence to escape the assault. Once inside, the assault continued. The victim fled to the bedroom of the residence in a further effort to get away from the suspect. The suspect entered the bedroom and continued to assault the victim. The suspect then locked the door and began sexually assaulting the victim. The victim was able to break free from the suspect and flee the residence.

Detectives obtained a search and seizure warrant for the residence and an arrest warrant for the suspect. As detectives approached the residence the suspect, identified as Joseph Reginald Curtis II, age 27, of Leonardtown, stabbed himself with a knife immediately prior to being taken into custody.

“The victim was taken to MedStar/St. Mary’s Hospital where she was treated for her injuries and released. Curtis II was taken to MedStar/St. Mary’s Hospital and treated for his injury and released. Once released from the hospital Curtis II was taken to the detention center, charged with Assault 1st Degree, Assault 2nd Degree, 1st Degree Sex Offense and False Imprisonment. Curtis II is currently being held on no bond.”

In court on Tuesday the victim testified about the incident: “It was the most traumatic and emotionally devastating event that has occurred in my life.” She said as the result of the attack she has been left with a knee injury. “When my daughter saw me from head to toe in bruises she was so afraid I would die, she said, adding it broke her daughter’s heart that her father would do such a thing to her mother.

Deputy State’s Attorney Buffy Giddens noted that Curtis had been charged in 2008 with assaulting the same woman. She said the incident last year showed “an escalation of violence.” Giddens charged that the Pre-Sentence Investigation (PSI) of Curtis by the Department of Parole and Probation showed t