Fall River man pleads guilty to strangling mother of his children

FALL RIVER -- A local man pleaded guilty Friday to assaulting and strangling the mother of his children then punching a correctional officer in the face while he was being held in custody, according to the the District Attorney’s Office.

Judge William Sullivan sentenced defendant Taurian Rogers, 36, of Fall River, to four years in prison followed by probation, a spokesman for District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a statement.

Rogers pleaded guilty in Superior Court to charges of two counts of aggravated assault and battery, and one count each of strangulation, assault to maim, assault and battery of a correctional officer, and assault and battery on a public employee with intent to disarm, said spokesman Gregg Miliote.

According to Miliote, on Aug. 19, 2017 Rogers pushed the mother of his children to the ground during an argument at her apartment, where she had been with her infant child who was not feeling well.

He strangled the mother to the extent where she later told authorities she was seeing stars, the DA’s office said. Rogers stopped attacking the mother when her teenage son entered the room, allowing the victim to escape the house with her infant child.

An electrician who spotted the frantic victim noticed injuries to her neck and called police. Officers stopped Rogers as he was driving away from her home, Miliote said.

The victim told investigators that Rogers had abused her previously and allowed investigators to review her medical records from Saint Anne’s Hospital, where she had treated for injuries several times in the past, according to the DA’s office.

Investigators concluded that Rogers punched the mother in the face in June 2017, causing a broken orbital bone that required surgery, and in May the same year he threw her to the ground and kicked her several times, bruising her ribs and breaking her elbow.

The DA’s office said that Rogers, while being held at the Ash Street Jail in New Bedford, punched a correctional officer in the face, pushed him to the ground and tried to grab the officer’s pepper spray.

The correctional officer had reprimanded Rogers for creating a disturbance in his cell that the DA’s office said prevented visitations at the jail.

Quinn said Rogers posed a danger to the public and said he must be monitored after he is released from prison.

“The defendant continued his history of assaultive behavior by punching a correctional officer who was just trying to do his job, and violently beating his girlfriend on multiple occasions. This conduct is simply not acceptable. The defendant is a clear danger to the community and needs to be kept off the street, and monitored upon his release,” Quinn said in the statement.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patrick Driscoll.