A Dartmouth man was convicted and sentenced this week for viciously beating his then-girlfriend in 2019, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Skye Soares, 26, is expected to serve six to seven-and-a-half years in state prison for intimidation of a witness and assault and battery-causing serious bodily injury after a two-day trial in Fall River Superior Court.

According to the DA’s office, the incident began in January 2019 when Soares got into an argument with his then-girlfriend after she did not let him see her phone.

The argument then became physical when Soares shoved her onto a table and then punched her in the face after she threatened to call the police.

The fight broke her nose, two bones in her cheek and eye socket, splitting her nose and head open. The victim required staples on the top of her head and stitches on her face and nose, the DA’s office said.

Following the fight, Soares demanded that the victim drive him to his sister’s home. Out of fear, the DA’s office said she drove him, although her sight was blurred by the blood pouring down her face. 

Once at his sister’s house, Soares made her swear on her daughter’s life that she wouldn’t call the police. 

She then went to where her 13-year-old daughter was being watched by a friend. 

After driving to the friend's home, the victim's friends asked her to call the police and go to the hospital.

The DA’s office said that out of fear of retaliation, the victim initially told hospital workers that she was jumped while walking home. She decided the next day to go to the police, where she reported that Soares had assaulted her.

Dartmouth Police found that she was still bleeding the next morning, and called an ambulance to take her to the hospital for a second time. After surgery on the shattered nose, the victim still has headaches and difficulty breathing due to the attack, the DA’s office said.

During the trial, the DA’s office said that the jurors decided to stay in the courtroom for the sentencing phase and all offered comfort and support to the victim afterward — something the office said is a “rare” occurrence.

In addition to the prison sentence, Soares will be required to attend batterers counseling, anger management courses and must wear a GPS monitor upon his release.

 “I commend the victim for her courage in reporting this crime and for her perseverance in seeing this case through. I am very pleased the jury held the defendant accountable for the vicious beating inflicted upon the victim,” Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III said. “No one should have to experience this type of brutality.”