TAMPA, Fla. — A 47-year-old man has pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating, striking and wounding his wife at MacDill Airforce Base in Tampa, U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg announced in a news release on Tuesday.
Kirk Dudley lived at the military base with his wife when on Jan. 26, 2021, he slapped her many times with an open hand and knocked her to the floor, according to court documents.
Dudley then reportedly sat on top of his wife and put a rag into her mouth while holding his hand over her nose and mouth to stop her from breathing.
Court documents report Dudley hit his wife again on Jan. 31, 2021, when he slapped her with open palms and then slammed her head onto different surfaces in the bathroom. A juvenile saw the man assault his wife, records say.
Dudley now faces a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison for each count and a sentencing date has not yet been confirmed, the news release said.
The Office of Special Investigation at MacDill Air Force Base investigated the case and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilyssa Spergel and Karyna Valdes.
