Fairhaven Homeless Man Who Assaulted Girlfriend Gets Prison Term

FAIRHAVEN — A 31-year-old man who was living in the woods in Fairhaven has been sentenced to three to five years in prison for strangling and assaulting his girlfriend in August 2020.

The Bristol County District Attorney's Office said Adam Furtado pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and two counts of domestic assault and battery.

Furtado was living in a tent in a wooded area on Tin Can Island near Riverside Cemetery at the time of the assault.

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The victim had walked barefoot to a Taber Street home for help after the attack at around 7 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2020.

She had been staying in the tent with Furtado after leaving a sober house program in New Bedford.

Police said on the second day of her stay, Furtado came back drunk from Market Basket and hit her with a rock.

When she tried to flee, he dragged her back to the tent, strangled and assaulted her.

A medical examination found that the victim had bruising on her face, neck, arms, legs, torso, and back.

She also had two displaced and broken ribs.

Furtado had previously been arrested for indecent exposure while sleeping at the Elm Street Garage in downtown New Bedford.

He will spend another year on probation after his release from prison.

"The defendant brutally assaulted the victim, causing serious injury," Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said.

"This sentence holds him accountable and protects the victim and the public from him."

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