Jury Said Man Assaulted Same Woman Twice

MIDDLETOWN, NY — A Middletown man was convicted after a jury trial for twice assaulting the same woman. Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler said Thursday that Eric Gilchrist, 40, of Middletown was found guilty of second-degree assault, a felony, and third-degree assault and second-degree criminal contempt, misdemeanors.

Not only did he assault the woman, he violated an order of protection that had been issued on her behalf, authorities said.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Gilchrist, who had dated and lived with the victim, assaulted her on at least two occasions.

The conviction for second-degree assault stemmed from an incident that occurred on July 24, near 10 Railroad Ave. in Middletown. Prosecutors said that at that time Gilchrist became enraged at the victim, who was with another man, and forcefully slammed her face into the roof of a parked car, denting the car and causing the victim to suffer a broken nose, black eyes, a laceration, and other significant injuries and pain.

The jury also convicted Gilchrist of having assaulted the same victim May 14, while they were in the Middletown apartment that they had shared at the time.

Gilchrist was also convicted of second-degree criminal contempt for having violated a temporary order of protection that had been issued on behalf of the victim after the May 14 incident.

Gilchrist was sent to the Orange County Jail without bail following the jury's verdict.

Prosecutors said they will be moving to have him adjudicated a discretionary persistent felony offender based on his prior criminal history.

If the court grants that application, Gilchrist faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison on the second-degree assault charge.

If the court does not grant the application, he faces a maximum of seven years in prison on the felony assault charge.

Hoovler said the jury's verdict was clearly supported by the evidence.

"My office will continue to treat all instances of domestic violence and former intimate partner abuse with the seriousness that those cases deserve and I urge all who are subjected to such abuse to reach out to law enforcement and to not-for-profit entities, like Safe Homes of Orange County, Inc., to stop the cycle of abuse, before it is too late," he said.

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Photo caption: Eric Gilchrist. Photo credit: Orange County District Attorney's Office.