Wyoming Man Facing Federal Felony For Alleged 2018 Assault

A Wyoming man is facing prison time for an alleged assault that happened nearly three years ago.

Federal prosecutors have charged Denver Lee John Sr. with assault and attempted assault by strangulation and suffocation. If convicted, John Sr. could face up to 10 years behind bars.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, FBI agents began investigating the incident in February of this year.

Court documents state John and the victim lived together in Fort Washakie along with their children and their shared children.

The complaint states the woman told investigators of an incident that happened in December of 2018 that she had not reported to law enforcement out of fear for John.

Court documents allege that she and John Sr. were fighting and that at some point she was on the floor screaming and John Sr. was holding her neck from behind and choking her. She told investigators that "things started to get dark" and she recalled her body going limp as if she were going to sleep.

The woman reportedly told investigators that all of her children were present for the incident and one child, in particular, was crying and asking if she was OK.

One of the children told investigators that John Sr. didn't stop choking the woman until he realized that she was almost dead or unconscious, court documents state. One of the children provided video of the incident to law enforcement.

According to the complaint, agents reviewed an 11-second video that depicts shouting.

The video reportedly shows a man, identified as John Sr. on top of a woman with his arm around the woman's neck. There are also multiple children in the video frame.