Man Sentenced for 2005 Brutal Attack

The attack was two years ago, but a victim says her wounds can finally heal because of a court decision on Friday.  A judge sentenced Brian K. Smith to twenty years in prison for domestic assault and armed criminal action in the 2005 attack on his former girlfriend, Michelle Bond.

Bond tells KOLR10 News that she's lived in fear for two years since the attack.  She worried that Smith would get out and try harming her again.

Police say in March 2005, Smith attacked Bond outside where she worked.   He jumped out from behind a dumpster and started beating her with a bat so hard that the bat broke.

Bond had a restraining order against Smith, but she says this crime made her realize that didn't provide much protection and only encouraged Smith's rage.

The Family Violence Center says many women are in a similar situation as Bond and that's why its shelter is almost always 85-90 percent full.

Bond says, “I thought I was protected and a law can only do so much.  He wasn't supposed to be at my workplace, but he made it anyway.”

“Harassment at work is very common.  They follow the women to work and come in to harass them or sit outside to be in the back of her mind and keep her on edge." says Pat Reiser, with the Family Violence Center.

Bond says she hopes many women will see her story and report domestic violence to the police and make moves to get away from it because she still has both physical and emotional lasting effects from that attack two years ago.