FALL RIVER — A Fall River man who assaulted the mother of his children despite a restraining order against him will serve jail time for the offense, after he was convicted on Tuesday.

Eduardo Mendez, 44, will spend four years in the Bristol County House of Corrections after he was convicted by a jury of violating a restraining order and assault and battery in violation of a restraining order, the Bristol County District Attorney's Office said.

According to the D.A.'s office, Mendez forced the woman and her four children into a van with him in an incident the sentencing judge called "deplorable."

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Fall River police responded to a domestic incident and restraining order violation at the Pleasant Street CVS on July 22, 2022.

The officers met with the victim and her four children, aged three to 12, at the scene, where they were told that Mendez had violated the restraining order the victim had against him in relation to a different pending case.

Mendez had previously been placed on GPS monitoring and ordered to have no contact with the victim or any of her children due to the prior case.

But the victim told police that Mendez, the father of her two youngest children, approached the family as they were walking to Wendy's and aggressively forced them to get into his van, which they did out of fear of violence.

According to the D.A.'s office, he refused to let the victim out of the van when she asked, despite her continuing to plead with him to let her out of the car.

He finally parked in the CVS parking lot and grabbed the victim's arm to prevent her from leaving — but she was eventually able to escape along with her children, the D.A.'s office stated.

A witness in a different car saw the altercation, asked if they needed help, and called the police as Mendez fled.

Both the victim and her 12-year-old daughter testified during the trial, expressing their fear throughout the whole ordeal.

The witness also testified during the trial that she was afraid for the victim and the children, as well as for herself.

The D.A.'s office said Fall River District Court Judge Sabine Coyne called the defendant’s behavior that day "deplorable" before sentencing Mendez to four years in the Dartmouth jail.

"Despite being on a GPS bracelet and having a restraining order against him from the victim in a pending case, the defendant forced the victim and her children into his car against their will and assaulted the victim," Bristol D.A. Thomas Quinn said.

"Fortunately they were all able to get out of the car without being hurt," he added. "I commend the witness for having the courage to assist the victim and alert the police."

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