A Cobb County man will return to state prison for the fourth time after his ninth conviction for abusing his wife, the District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
A jury convicted Ricky Allen, 39, of family violence battery, aggravated battery, and false imprisonment on Thursday. Allen was acquitted of kidnapping in the June 13 attack, when he threw his wife on a concrete floor and punched her inside the couple’s home, near Marietta, according to investigators.
Allen’s wife testified at his trial, but downplayed the seriousness of the attack, the office of DA Vic Reynolds said in an emailed statement.
“Unfortunately, she’s still under his power and control,” Sherwin Figueroa, an assistant DA, said. “His behavior controls her and makes her do things a normal person would not do. She believed she had to recant or her life would be in danger.”
Allen’s wife has filed for divorce from her husband of 10 years. The couple has five children.
Allen previously was convicted eight times of abusing his wife, but only one conviction was a felony, according to the DA. He has served in state prison three times since 2008, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Most recently, Allen was released in March after serving about six months on a family violence, cruelty to children and obstruction conviction, records showed.
Sentencing for Allen for his latest conviction has not yet been scheduled.
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