NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man who police say threw acid at a woman who refused to marry him has been sentenced to at least six years in prison.
The New Haven Register reports 52-year-old Derek Rawls was sentenced Thursday after earlier pleading guilty to first-degree assault and violating a protective order. His plea agreement called for a 13-year sentence to be suspended after Rawls serves six years.
Authorities say Rawls threw acid on the woman last year at her apartment, where he had turned off the water so she couldn’t wash off. She suffered third-degree burns to her face, neck and chest and was permanently scarred.
She said in a statement that her scars are “a reminder of that terrible day forever.”
Rawls declined to make a statement during his sentencing.
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