Bedford County man sentenced for strangulation and domestic assault

BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - A Bedford County man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for domestic assault and strangulation, according to Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Bethany Harrison.

Steven John Lorent was sentenced May 30, 2023 by a Bedford Circuit Court judge to 50 years on a felony charge of Object Sexual Penetration (25 years suspended), five years for felony Strangulation and one year for misdemeanor Domestic Assault and Battery. With the sentences to be served concurrently, the active sentence is 25 years, assuming he meets conditions agreed to in court.

Lorent was convicted by a jury of all three charges connected to the incident April 17, 2019. The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Little Creek Road in Moneta. A neighbor had called 911 when the victim, a resident of the home, ran to the neighbor’s house asking for help. The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment, and was found to have injuries consistent with sexual assault, strangulation and assault and battery, according to Harrison.

Investigators found signs of a physical struggle throughout the house, including a hole in the wall with human hair in it and bodily fluid consistent with blood on the master bed and on the floor. The victim said she had been sexually assaulted by Lorent in the bedroom of the home, and was then pushed to the living room area, where she was thrown into a chair. Her head hit the wall, said Harrison, causing the hole in the wall with her hair in it. The victim said Lorent beat her with his fists, then strangled her until she could no longer breathe. She said she bit Lorent on the nose, leading him to leave the house.

Lorent was found and arrested with an injury to his nose consistent with being bitten, according to investigators.