DENVER (CBS4) – A civilian living on Fort Carson who committed “heinous domestic violence assaults” on his spouse has been sentenced to 45 years in federal prison, according to the Department of Justice.
U.S. Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced the sentence of Mitchell Lee Gibson, 30, on Wednesday.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Gibson was accused of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault of a spouse by strangling and suffocation.
Fort Carson police officers responded to a 911 call on March 25, 2014 from a woman claiming Gibson assaulted her, according to Jeff Dorschner with the Department of Justice.
“Responding officers immediately saw significant injuries and called for medical assistance. She told officers that Gibson was under the influence of alcohol and prescription medication, and that he threatened to hurt her and a child,” Dorschner said in a statement.
Doctors examined the victim and her injuries included “two black eyes, scratches and extensive bruising on her face, arms, chest, shoulders, torso, hips and legs. She had red marks on her arms and throat, and injuries from whipping on her back, torso and legs.
“She had a bite mark on the back of her next and blood from a laceration on her ear. She had second degree burns covering her stomach, groin, right arm and right leg. She also had two open blisters from the burns. All of this while she was 9 weeks pregnant,” Dorschner said.
Dorschner said that Gibson had “whipped the victim with a coaxial cable, which he regularly made her retrieve for him prior to the beatings. He would choke her with the cable until she blacked out, and then pour boiling hot water on her stomach, groin and leg to revive her.”
“Defendant Gibson assaulted his victim in a series of senseless, sadistic attacks that earned him every minute of the stern sentence imposed,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh said in the statement. “We hope that his victim – and the larger community — can now rest easy, knowing that her tormentor will spend decades isolated from society.”
Ravenelle called the cruelty Gibson demonstrated to his family “shocking.”
