San Antonio man heading to prison for attacking girlfriend with metal baseball bat

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A San Antonio man is heading to prison over for attacking his former girlfriend in 2019.

49-year-old Juan Antonio Rivera was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the assault.

Officials said Rivera attacked the woman on August 17, 2019, with a metal baseball bat and left her with injuries to her head and legs. Rivera eventually bonded out after the attack, but was arrested after he assaulted the woman at second time. He was arrested for the second attack in March 2020.

Prosecutors used testimony from EMS and police in the trial, as well as presenting phone calls from Rivera to the woman while he was in custody asking her to lie to police. Officials said that recorded calls captured Rivera intimidating and coercing the victim into not cooperating with prosecutors and not going to court.

“Our team understood why the victim did not want to face this defendant in court. This is a challenge in many family violence cases. We were fortunate that we had enough evidence to prove this case without retraumatizing this victim. While she has lived in fear for nearly three years, I hope that she finds some peace in the fact that this defendant is no longer in a position to hurt her,” said Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.