16 Years In Prison Given To FL Woman Who Assaulted Underage MD Girlfriend

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A 27-year-old woman from Florida has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for interstate domestic violence after she became romantically involved with a 17-year-old from Halethorpe who she met on social media. They communicated via Facetime and other means. The teen lived in Florida with her father at the time and the two met in person there, according to a plea agreement.

The teen's parents reported her missing in July 2017 during which time she stayed in a Florida hotel for six days with Deriyan Woodson, who was on probation for assault that occurred in a previous relationship.

The teen traveled to her mother's Maryland home in July 2017 with plans to finish high school there and return to Florida to live with Woodson. The two remained in touch. According to court documents, Woodson became controlling of the teen and demanded that she stay home and not hang out with friends, according to a plea agreement. The teen cut off all ties to Woodson at the time, but Woodson demanded she return to Florida and began relentlessly calling the home where the teen lived with her mom and grandmother.

In her plea agreement, the teen's mother confirmed what she described as "excessive" contact from Woodson, which she reported to Florida police. The Kissimmee Police Department wrote Woodson a letter demanding that Woodson stop communicating with the teen and warned Woodson that felony charges could be filed based on Woodson’s “history.” In response, Woodson posted a redacted version of the letter on one of her social media accounts with a caption that said, “How are you trying to put me in jail when my probation is 3 days away.”

On July 30, 2017, Woodson traveled from Orlando, Florida, to Maryland, in May 2017 and went to the 17-year-old girl's home, duct-taped the victim's grandmother then confronted the teen and a friend when they arrived at the home. Woodson was armed with a handgun and a kitchen knife. Woodson ordered the teenage friend to the basement then put the gun to the teen's head and marched her to her car at which time she stabbed the teen and assaulted her with the gun.

They drove to Howard County, abandoned the vehicle and ran to a hotel in Elkridge. In the plea agreement, a hotel clerk noticed the teen's wounds and contacted Howard County Police. Officers identified her as the minor reported missing and arrested Woodson. The teen was taken to the hospital whee she was treated for an orbital fracture and numerous stab wounds to the head, hand and an eyelid.

Then she took the teen to a Howard County hotel. Howard County police took the woman into custody and turned her over to Baltimore County Police. Evidence collected at the scene was used by federal authorities during Woodson's trial.