Iowa City man charged with breaking into residence and assaulting girlfriend

Hunter
08/24/21

An Iowa City man has been arrested for an incident earlier this month when he allegedly entered his girlfriend’s residence without permission and assaulted her and another victim.

According to police, 40-year-old Robert Burns entered the woman’s Douglass Street residence without permission in the overnight hours of August 7th. He found his girlfriend sitting on the couch and reportedly began punching her repeatedly in the face. A second victim came out of the bathroom and saw Burns assaulting the woman. Burns allegedly grabbed the other woman by the throat and told her to stay out of it.

Burns’ girlfriend had a swollen bloody lip and a large bump on her forehead. The other woman had pain to her neck and had red marks. A twelve-year-old reportedly witnessed the assaults, and other children at the residence were woken up by the assault. Burns and the woman have no children together, don’t live together, and have never been married, according to the arrest report.

A warrant for Burns’ arrest was issued on August 9th; he was arrested Monday morning. He’s been charged with 1st degree Burglary, and two counts of Assault causing Bodily Injury. If convicted on all counts, Burns could be sentenced to up to 27 years in prison. He is currently being held on a $27,000 cash or surety bond.

A no-contact order was requested by the victims.