Man indicted for assaulting girlfriend, holding her prisoner

By Joe Johnson

An Athens-Clarke County grand jury this week indicted 42-year- old Joseph Daniel Harper for beating and holding prisoner his girlfriend.

He was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated stalking, false imprisonment, possession of a knife in the commission of a felony, family violence battery, and terroristic threats, according to the indictment filed Tuesday in Superior Court,

The charges stem from an incident at the victim’s apartment in October when Harper was in violation of a court protective order from previous acts of violence against the 50-year-old victim.

Harper has been detained without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on February 16th.

Anyone who is in an abusive relationship can seek advice and support services by calling Project Safe's 24-hour hotline at (706) 543-3331, or by visiting http://www.project-safe.org