A 42-year-old Long Island man has been indicted for throwing sulfuric acid at his girlfriend when she tried to go home after an argument.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney accused Douglas Graves with committing “unimaginable” cruelty during the alleged November assault that left the victim hospitalized.
According to investigators, Graves picked up a Clorox bleach bottle containing sulfuric acid and intentionally splashed the victim’s face and body with the liquid, then fled the Wyandanch home where he was staying.
Prosecutors said that when police arrived “the victim’s clothing was melting off her body.”
“The liquid immediately burned through the victim’s clothing, reaching the skin, which caused excruciating pain,” prosecutors said.
She was rushed to Nassau County Medical Center and treated for chemical burns.
Despite treatment to neutralize the chemical reaction, the victim’s burns continued to worsen for about a week, the District Attorney’s office said. Ongoing reconstructive surgery will be necessary to treat her wounds.
The victim told investigators that Graves carries an acid mixture “for personal protection.”
The suspect was found and arrested on the morning of the alleged assault. Charges against him include two counts of assault and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.
He’s also accused of criminal contempt for trying to reach the victim by phone in her hospital bed from his jail cell. Graves contacted two other women from jail with hopes of stopping his victim from testifying, according to prosecutors claim.
“Survivors of domestic violence deserve unwavering protection, and we will not tolerate those who believe they can brutalize their partners without consequence,” Tierney said in a statement announcing Graves’s indictment Thursday.