South Dakota man who cut off girlfriend's nipples with scissors pleads guilty to domestic assault

Sioux Falls police department calls incident 'disturbing'

Sioux Falls Police spokesman Sam Clemens says the police department deals with domestic abuse cases on a daily basis (USA Today )

A man who cut off the nipples of his ex-girlfriend has pleaded guilty to domestic assault.

Tony Deval Ledbetter, 45, of Sioux Falls, attacked his 39-year-old former partner with scissors during an argument.

Police said the couple had been on and off and at the time of the incident they were not in a relationship.

After arriving at her house, a conversation between the couple turned into an argument and police spokesman Sam Clemens told USA Today Ledbetter started punching her in the face and slammed her head against the ground several times

Police say he used his forearm to put pressure on her throat in an attempt to stop her screaming and tried to stuff a blanket in her mouth to cover the sound.

Mr Clemens added: "The really disturbing part is he went to grab some scissors and sat on top of her and used those scissors to cut off her nipples."

She eventually managed to run free and ran outside to get some help.

Ledbetter called emergency services and the victim was taken to hospital. Ledbetter was arrested for aggravated domestic assault.

Mr Clemens added: "Domestic violence is something we see daily, maybe not quite to this extent but we have a lot of variety. It cuts across all demographics, this is something we see across all groups."

Ledbetter pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault which include two counts regarding the scissors attack and one count related to Ledbetter choking the victim.

The sentencing will take place on 28 November.