BEDFORD – Robert Porter, 38, of Orleans was sentenced to six years in the Indiana Department of Corrections today on a charge of domestic battery.
Porter has a prior criminal conviction for the same crime.
“Robert Porter violated his terms of probation from his previous conviction by committing the offense above. Porter had pled guilty in the 2019 case to domestic battery on a pregnant woman, a Level 5 Felony. Porter had been sentenced to 731 days and a portion of it suspended to receive treatment underlying his violent issues; however, he failed and the court sentenced him today to serve his remaining sentence in the IDOC,” said Lisa Kempf
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney.
The newest case will run consecutive to the 2019 case.
Porter was arrested after a woman told police he had been calling and texting her multiple times over the last few weeks. He learned she had a new boyfriend and that she had placed an active protective order against Porter. This was established after Porter had injured her during a domestic fight in August 2020. Police learned that the order had not yet been served on Porter. He was also wanted on an outstanding warrant in Lawrence County from that incident.
On August 14, 2020, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department Central Dispatch received a 911 call from the woman yelling for help and then the phone went dead.
Officers went to a home in the 230 block of Rawlings Mill Road. Police say they had responded to the home in the past due to domestic violence.
When police arrived they spoke with the female who said her boyfriend Robert Porter had “went crazy” , battered her, broke a mirror, and fled on foot from the house.
The woman told police Porter threw her on the bed and struck a hand mirror against her knee, breaking it.
Police were unable to find Porter and the information was forwarded to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
A 6-month-old baby was lying in a crib just inches away from the bed. Glass from the broken mirror went into the crib and was also seen on the floor.
While carrying a toddler and calling 911, Porter allegedly grabbed the phone and threw it against the wall, breaking it. He then shoved her to the floor while she was holding the child causing her to injure both her knees. Porter then fled the home prior to police arriving.
