A 33-year-old man from Collin County who brutally beat his pregnant girlfriend and held her captive for days was sentenced to life in prison. On April 1, a jury found Apolonio Rodriguez guilty of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon Causing Serious Bodily Injury with Family Violence.
Court documents state that Rodriguez assaulted his girlfriend, who was seven months pregnant at the time. Rodriguez attacked her with his hands and feet at their home in Celina, Texas. He also weaponized items such as an extension cord, a golf club, a mug, and a knife.
According to the court documents, the victim sustained extensive bruising all over her body and a shattered elbow. She additionally suffered lacerations to her head.
After the assault, Rodriguez forcefully took the victim to a relative’s house.
Nothing was known of the victim’s condition until she failed to show up for work. Her friends and family, suspecting something was amiss, requested a welfare check. Law enforcement found her and Rodriguez on the sixth day in the attic of a relative’s house.
According to CBS News, 33-year-old Rodriguez has a history of domestic violence. At the time of the assault, he was already wanted by Montague County authorities for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon for shooting a previous girlfriend. In 2007, he was convicted of misdemeanor Assault Family Violence, an offense for which he served 120 days in a Denton County jail.
During his hearing, prosecutors brought out cases of other women who Rodriguez had allegedly abused within the last 15 years.
Rodriguez will not be eligible for parole for thirty years.
