Police arrest Cape man for assaulting girlfriend

By Linda Redeffer ~ Southeast Missourian

A passerby on his way to the SEMO District Fair Monday witnessed an assault on a Cape Girardeau woman and called police who arrested Paul Clifton Oakley of 2611 Themis St.

Oakley appeared Thursday before Judge Gary Kamp in Cape Girardeau County, where he was charged with two counts of felony domestic assault, one count of misdemeanor domestic assault and one count of misdemeanor animal abuse.

According to a probable cause affidavit by Cape Girardeau police officer Debi N. Oliver, the witness walking past Oakley's Themis Street address saw him grab his 18-year-old live-in girlfriend by the neck and drag her into the house. The witness called police, and the report said Oakley continued to choke the victim once he got her inside.

Oliver's report further states that in the months Oakley has lived with the victim, he repeatedly hit her in her right side knowing that she had lacerated her liver during an accident in late June and was susceptible to further serious injury.

The report also claims Oakley isolated the woman from her family, forcing her to stay inside the house under his constant watch without a telephone. He had also spat on his victim's face. He disabled her vehicle by removing the distributor cap and locked the vehicle in the garage.

The woman, according to Oliver, "was in constant apprehension of immediate physical injury since Mr. Oakley placed his foot on her throat approximately 10 days ago."

On the day he was arrested, Oakley threw the woman's kitten out the door then slapped her in the face. After she ran outside to rescue her pet, Oakley threw an object at the kitten causing it to jump to the ground. He roughly grabbed the cat and threw it again, threatening to kill the animal in an attempt to make the woman come back into the house where he continued to assault her until police arrived.

Oakley has a history of past abuse and currently has orders of protection against him, Oliver stated. He is in the Cape Girardeau County Jail in lieu of a $25,000 cash-only bond. He is scheduled for an Oct. 8 preliminary hearing.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160