DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARNESS MONTH CULMINATES WITH CONVICTION, 30-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR DEFENDANT

Uncooperative Victim Recants, Defends and Marries Abuser

Atlanta- Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announces a conviction by jury trial against 39-year old Damion Horne of South Fulton in what many people are characterizing as a classic case of domestic violence. Horne was convicted on Friday, the end of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, of Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Assault and False Imprisonment charges for a 2008 attack against his then-girlfriend. He was sentenced Monday to 30-years in prison.

The first incident occurred on August 11, 2008 when the defendant punched the victim in the face following an argument over a message in the woman’s cell phone. The victim called 9-1-1 for help but the defendant never returned to the scene. The second incident occurred approximately a week later, when Horne returned to the home. He once again searched the woman’s phone and became enraged by her call and message history. He proceeded to beat the woman with his hands, a paddle and a hole-puncher. He also slammed her head against a wall, cut off big chunks of the victim’s hair, spit on her and stabbed her with a pair of scissors leaving minor puncture wounds. During the attack, Horne called two people from the woman’s phone and bragged about beating her. The victim was able to escape and call 9-1-1.

Following the attack, the victim admitted to police and medical authorities that she was raped, sodomized and stabbed by Horne. Unfortunately, as is the case in many domestic violence incidents, the victim recanted her story and claimed the physical and sexual abuse was consensual. She later married the defendant in an attempt to further restrict her ability to testify at trial. During her testimony, she claimed that all of her wounds were self-inflicted to get her boyfriend’s attention and prevent him from leaving her.

An expert on intimate-partner violence testified extensively at trial about the cycle of abuse including the reluctance of victims to leave their attackers. According to the expert testimony, the actions of the victim subsequent to her attack are consistent with that of an abused woman. The victim is currently pregnant with the couples’ second child.

Superior Court Judge Constance Russell presided over the case. It was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Melissa Redmon of the Crimes Against Women and Children Unit with Assistance from Senior ADA Lee Williams and DA Investigators Antoinette Beyah and Genard Tindal. Retired Detective Joy Myrick of the Fulton County Police Department led the initial investigation.

Media Contact: Yvette Brown, 404-224-0560/404-392-8867, yvette.brown@fultoncountyga.gov