CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A Carter County man pleaded guilty on Monday to aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault in connection to what District Attorney General Steve Finney’s office described as a “long-term course of assaults” against a girlfriend.

Thomas Williams, 31, agreed to serve fifteen years in prison without the possibility of parole, according to a Monday release from Finney’s office.

Several of Williams’s other charges were dismissed, according to the Carter County Criminal Court documents. Two other charges of especially aggravated kidnapping, another charge of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated rape were dismissed, court documents show.

The release said the charges stem from a Sept. 2022 incident on Elizabeth Ann Drive, where police reportedly observed visible injuries on Williams’ girlfriend.

Officers observed several burn marks, lacerations and bruises on the victim, according to the release. On a later date, police reportedly learned the victim was confirmed to have suffered broken ribs. An investigation ensued, and police determined that Williams had caused the burn marks they saw by using a blow torch lighter on the victim, the release said.

Attorney General Finney’s office said Williams has multiple prior convictions for domestic assault against other women.