Derek Michael Bowser, 23, DuBois, an inmate of the state prison, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and terroristic threats. He was sentenced to a total of 12 months to five years in state prison. He was fined $4 plus costs. He must complete anger management counseling and submit toDNAtesting at a cost of $250. This sentence will run consecutive to a probation revocation on a previous assault charge for which Bowser received six months to two years in state prison.
These charges stem from an incident in DuBois on July 31 when Bower allegedly threatened and assaulted a woman and her 3-year-old daughter.
Prior to sentencing, the victim addressed the court stating that her daughter is attending counseling. “He screwed her up,” she said. She warned the judge that what Bowser did to her daughter he could do to his own daughter. This victim was also the victim in the previous assault case.
“I don’t care about myself. But I want justice for my daughter.”
The victim’s father also stated that the girl has psychological problems. He added that he didn’t think a nine-month sentence was enough for him to “learn his lesson.”
Bowser also addressed the court apologizing to the victims and to his family.
“I know what I did was wrong. There is no excuse for my actions.”
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim told police that she was at a Rumbarger Avenue address with Bowser and her daughter. Bowser got upset when the daughter wasn’t in bed at a certain time. When she walked out to the porch to call her father, she heard the girl say something to Bowser. She told the girl she didn’t have to listen to him.
Bowser then went out onto the porch and punched her in the left side of the face with a closed fist, breaking her glasses and knocking them off her face. She tried to run, but Bowser chased her and made her go back into the house. Bowser then went over to the girl, yelled at her and then pushed her onto the floor. Bowser made both of them go into a bedroom. Once they were near the bathroom, Bowser grabbed the woman by the throat and threw her against the wall. He then chased her into the bathroom. Next he picked up the 3-year-old who was standing in the doorway and slammed her to the ground. He smacked the girl across the back and face.
He then stated instead of going to jail he was going to kill the woman. He went into the kitchen and returned with a knife. He made both the woman and her daughter lay down in the bedroom with him. When she got up to turn the light on, Bowser jumped up, grabbed her by the throat and accused her of trying to escape. He told her to call her father. As she dialed the phone, Bowser held it and had her by the throat so she couldn’t move. He then forced her into the living room to wait for her father.
While in the living room, he grabbed her by the back of the neck, put the knife to her throat and told her if the cops showed up, or she tried to scream or run, he was going to stab and kill her. He also said when he was done he would go back into the bedroom and kill the 3-year-old. When the father arrived, the victim and her daughter managed to get out of the house and into his truck. Bowser threatened to kill her if she didn’t get out of the truck, but her father was able to pull away from the home.
The victim said Bowser kept her in the house against her will for about two hours. Officers described the victim as having a black/blue left eye that was almost swollen shut. The eye had a large cut above the eyebrow, which was bleeding and appeared to need stitches. She also had redness on the front of her neck. She was crying, shaking and seemed to be very scared as she complained about the pain in her face. The 3-year-old had redness and swelling between her eye and ear and two fresh, red brush burns on her neck. Both were taken to the emergency room for treatment. The victim needed eight stitches above her eye. The child had a cut on her head, scratches and cuts on the left shoulder/neck area, redness and swelling on the left side of her face, a lump on the side of her head, and redness with bruising on her back.
In the previous assault case from March 2011, the victim suffered a broken left cheek bone, bleeding behind her left eye, a broken maxillary cavity along the sinus wall and she also had a bad contusion on her right hand.