A Cherokee County man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for beating his wife so badly last year he broke her nose and caused memory loss.
David Charles Kemp, 39, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated battery, three counts of family violence battery, violating a protective order and making terroristic threats or acts, prosecutors said.
The Acworth man was sentenced to 25 years behind bars and another 15 on probation for what the prosecutor called “one of the worst beatings” she’d seen in years of trying domestic violence cases.
The attack began in December at the couple’s Acworth home, authorities said. Kemp broke his wife’s nose and caused a subdural hematoma, cuts to her face and bruising to much of her body, authorities said.
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When deputies responded, the victim was sitting in the driver’s seat of a car about nine miles away in Holly Springs, prosecutors said. She told police the beating occurred two days earlier, but she could not recall most of the details of the attack.
“This assault likely happened over several days before the victim escaped. Due to the brain trauma, the victim still suffers memory loss,” Cherokee County Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe said. “She is very lucky to be alive. This is a classic example of how domestic violence often escalates. The defendant had assaulted his wife previously and each incident was more brutal than the last.”
At Kemp’s sentencing, the state played a recorded phone call in which he told his wife that she “owed him,” and then threatened to hurt her again once he was released from custody, prosecutors said.
“No person should ever be treated in the manner in which this victim was treated, much less by someone who claims to love her,” District Attorney Shannon Wallace said. “The physical and mental injuries this victim suffered were horrific and we are proud of the role law enforcement and our office played in ending this nightmare for her.”
Following his release from prison, Kemp was ordered not to have any contact with the woman and to refrain from drug and alcohol use.
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