District Man Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Aggravated Assault and Other Charges for Disfiguring Woman With Boiling Liquid

Monday, October 30, 2023

Victim Suffered Second-Degree Burns

            WASHINGTON – Tesfay Teshale, 51, of Springfield, Virginia, was sentenced on October 27, 2023 to six years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release for aggravated assault while armed, malicious disfigurement while armed, and assault with a dangerous weapon for an assault that included pouring boiling liquid on the female victim, resulting in second-degree burns on her body, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and Pamela Smith, Acting Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Teshale was found guilty on August 16, 2023, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia before the Honorable Jason Park.

             The defendant and the victim had dated. According to the government’s evidence, when the victim decided to break off the relationship, the defendant stalked, harassed, and assaulted her because he could not handle the rejection. On June 14, 2019, the defendant cornered the victim, punched her multiple times in the face, knocked her down, and, while she was down, poured an urn of boiling liquid onto her. The defendant then left her there, bleeding, badly burned, and in extreme pain. The victim managed to call for help and District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel transported her to the hospital where she was treated for contusions, abrasions, and bruises to her face, as well as second-degree burns.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Yang, Zachary Horton, Cara Gardner, Emma McArthur, Chimnomnso Kalu, Nick Coleman, and Dan Lenerz, Paralegal Specialists ReShawn Johnson, Arielle Okpara, and Veronica Yale, Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Cynthia Muhammad, Victim/Witness Advocate Rodgers Dickerson, Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, Victim/Witness Services Coordinators Katina Adams-Washington, Tonya Jones, and Basizette Stribling, and interns Adam Russell, Izzy Metee, and Louis Villacci.

          Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shakinah Douglas and Richard Kelley, who investigated and prosecuted the case.