A Bensalem man who beat and choked his ex-girlfriend three different times in a seven-month period pleaded guilty on Thursday, and was sentenced to two to four years in state prison.
Patrick Dando, 35, of Elmwood Avenue, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, strangulation, and theft by unlawful taking in the most recent attack, which he committed while he was out on bail for the first two. He pleaded guilty to strangulation and simple assault for each of the first two attacks on the victim.
In addition to the state prison sentence, Dando was sentenced by President Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. to six years of probation, consecutive to his prison term.
Dando was first charged with attacking the victim in her Falls Township apartment on Aug. 7, 2020. In that assault, Dando grabbed the victim by the neck, threw her onto the bed and covered her mouth and nose to prevent her from screaming. The victim suffered injuries to her neck, chin, cheeks, and lips.
Dando was sent to Bucks County Correctional Facility under $40,000 bail, 10 percent, but was able to post bail the next day. Months later, on Oct. 26, Dando attacked the same woman after she told him she was ending their relationship.
Dando was again arrested and charged, but his bail was set at $25,000 unsecured, prompting Assistant District Attorney Elliott R. Katz to file a motion to have his bail revoked, so he could be sent back to jail, but that motion was denied.
On March 5, 2021, Dando returned to the victim’s apartment and attacked her again, this time pushing her down a flight of concrete steps and choking her until she blacked out. The victim later discovered that Dando had also taken her cellphone and spare key fob to her car.
Katz filed a second bail revocation motion after the third attack, which was approved.
“Mr. Dando’s victim will be safe for only as long as his state prison sentence lasts,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. “After that, I fear for her safety. He has proven to be ungovernable. We will oppose his parole whenever he is eligible.” The assaults were investigated by the Falls Township Police Department and Bucks County Detectives and the U.S. Marshals Service assisted in taking him into custody.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Elliott R. Katz.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, there is help for you from A Woman’s Place. Please click here for help and resources.
