By Julie Manganis
SALEM ¬¬— A Salem man is facing domestic assault and battery charges after police said some students at Salem High School witnessed him repeatedly slam his girlfriend's head into the steering wheel of a car as she held their 1-year-old daughter Wednesday.
But the teenage victim, a special needs student at the school, and her mother are both saying, "It's not that big a deal," Rafael Lugo's attorney, William O'Hare, said.
Lugo, 21, of 100 Lafayette St., Salem, pleaded not guilty to six counts of assault and battery and five counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon during his arraignment yesterday in Salem District Court, where, by coincidence, he was due to appear for a pretrial hearing in an earlier domestic abuse case involving the same victim.
And while Judge Richard Mori turned down an application for a restraining order sought by the girl ¬— who told the judge she was not in fear of Lugo — he did revoke Lugo's bail in the pending case and set additional bail of $5,000 on the new charges.
The child was not harmed, but police filed a report with the Department of Children and Families. The child was still in the custody of the victim yesterday and came with her to court.
O'Hare said his client, who was slashed on the face at the Casablanca nightclub in Salem last month, said the incident on Wednesday was provoked by the woman biting him on the face, near where he was stabbed.
When police arrived in the parking lot of Salem High School, where the incident took place, Lugo had already left. He was arrested late Wednesday night on a warrant.
Prosecutor Michelle DeCourcey said the other students who reported seeing the incident were concerned about the safety of the 1-year-old in the car.
Lugo was charged in May 2007 with pushing the same young woman down a flight of stairs and trying to choke her, a case that resulted in a continuation without a finding in Lynn District Court.
Then, on Feb. 18, he was arrested after he allegedly threatened the same woman and her sister and kicked down a bathroom door, DeCourcey told the judge.
DeCourcey said that the fact that both the girl and her mother are saying it's not a big deal is an indication of a larger problem and argued that he poses a danger to the girl and their child.
Mori agreed and went along with her request for high bail and revocation of his bail in the earlier case.
If he is released, he will be required by the court not to have contact with the victim. He is due back in court on May 11.
