A man was sentenced Thursday to serve 16 years in prison on a felony strangulation conviction for attacking a woman at the Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor, Maryland, last December.
Bruce Godfrey abused Jessica Farley for hours in a hotel room in front of their 6-year-old son.
“I was four seconds away from dying in front of my child,” Farley said.
According to court documents, Godfrey abused her, took her phone, and held her and their son against their will. The son begged him not to kill his mother while Farley lost consciousness.
“He locked the door, said that he was going to kill her and he’d be the only one coming out alive from that room,” said Carolyn Mills, Prince George’s County’s assistant state’s attorney.
When Godfrey went to sleep, Farley was able to contact hotel staff, who then contacted police. According to the hotel staff’s 911 call, she instructed police not to knock on the door, but instead, come inside without warning. Officers were then able to rescue Farley and her son.
According to prosecutors, Farley had broken blood vessels in her eyes along with scratches and bruising on her throat and body.
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Godfrey was charged with a felony because state lawmakers passed legislation in 2020 making strangulation a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
“A victim of strangulation is seven-to-eight times more likely to end up being a victim of homicide,” said Aisha Braveboy, Prince George’s County’s state attorney.
Farley said that a weight had been lifted off her shoulders following the conviction.
“I did not want to raise a child in domestic violence. I did not want my son to hurt anyone when he got older. I wanted my kid to be a happy, vibrant child and I was ruining it for him by bringing him back into this situation,” Farley said.
Farley advocates for a national database of domestic violence abusers that could be accessed for free similar to a sex offender registry. She is looking forward to her future now by earning her bachelor’s degree, gaining financial stability and starting a new job.
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