An Acworth man who beat his girlfriend so severely that he fractured her eye socket is headed to prison for five years, authorities said Wednesday.
James Waylon Bailey, 40, was convicted of aggravated battery and other charges related to the February 2018 attack, Cherokee County prosecutors said.
The victim did not initially report the assault to police, but an emergency room nurse contacted authorities when she went to the hospital for treatment.
She filed a police report about the ongoing abuse three weeks later at the urging of her family, prosecutors said in a news release. At Bailey’s trial, the woman testified she didn’t report the assaults sooner because her boyfriend promised her that he would change.
“One of the most troubling aspects of domestic violence is that victims are reluctant to report these crimes, even after a brutal attack like this one,” District Attorney Shannon Wallace said. “It’s heartbreaking to hear a victim say her boyfriend beat her ‘more times than I can count.’”
Assistant DA Rachel Ashe, who prosecuted Bailey, called the pattern of domestic abuse a “vicious cycle.”
“Victims of domestic violence often do not report these types of crimes because they are afraid for their safety, blame themselves for the abuse or want to protect the person who is hurting them,” she said.
Bailey was sentenced to 20 years, with five to serve in prison and the rest on probation.
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