Man Hid in the Home of His Child's Mother While Cops Visited. Then, He Beat and Strangled Her When They Left By Toria Sheffield

A California man has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after he hid in the home of the mother of his child while police stopped by the residence, then beat and strangled her after they left.

Nathan James Sumpter, 28, of Oroville, violated a restraining order and went to the victim’s home on the evening of July 8, per a media release from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.

“When law enforcement went to the residence, the defendant hid in the home and threatened the victim and her family if she reported his presence,” the DA’s office said. 

Police left the home, and Sumpter then “punched the victim in the face and strangled her” that evening.

The release stated that Sumpter continued his “brutality” the following morning, when he “strangled [the victim] to the point of unconsciousness and stomped on her face in front of their two-year-old child.”

Sumpter then called the victim’s aunt in a panic because she was unresponsive. He fled the scene, and the victim was ultimately taken to a local hospital, “where she received treatment for a fractured eye socket,” per the release.

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Sumpter was later arrested by Oroville Police.

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said the “vicious beating and strangling” highlights “the insidious nature of domestic violence,” noting that it happens “out of sight behind closed doors,” according to the release. 

PEOPLE reached out to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office, as well as an attorney for Sumpter, on Sunday, Sept. 14, but did not receive an immediate response.

Sumpter was charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors, including assault likely to produce great bodily injury, battery with serious bodily injury and dissuading a witness, Butte County public records show. He pleaded no contest.

Sumpter was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for his crimes on Thursday, Sept. 11, according to the D.A.’s office.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.