Man gets 90-day jail sentence in plea deal; assault victim says she's 'scared'

A Cape Girardeau man pleaded guilty Thursday to domestic-assault charges stemming from an incident in May in which he beat his girlfriend, police said.

David S. Rollins, 45, was sentenced to 90 days in jail as part of a plea deal, but his victim, Amanda McCarter, said the sentence leaves her fearful. She was scheduled to testify in Rollins’ trial, but she said the plea deal circumvented the opportunity.

Rollins admitted to “getting in a physical altercation” with McCarter on May 9 at a residence they shared, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by Cape Girardeau police patrolman Gabe Yoder.

“He just started wailing on me,” McCarter said. “Choking me.”

Swelling under her eye consistent with being punched was noted in Yoder’s statement.

McCarter was pregnant at the time of the assault, she later learned, and, she said, the stress resulting from the assault caused her to miscarry later.

In an interview with the Southeast Missourian on Thursday, she said she received a call from the prosecutor’s office about 45 minutes prior to the trial, informing her of the deal.

“I tell him how scared I am for my life and that I have photo proof that he cut me, and he said that the 90 days was justice enough,” she said. “Why, on God’s green earth, would they only give him 90 days? That’s not right.”

McCarter said while she has a restraining order against Rollins, she doubts he will obey.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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