CLARION CO., Pa. (EYT) — A Clarion man who allegedly used a butane torch lighter to burn his ex-girlfriend while she was sleeping was held for court on Tuesday.

According to court documents, the following charges against 27-year-old Branden Michael Doty were held for court during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday:

– Aggravated Assault – Attempts to cause SBI or causes injury with extreme indifference, Felony 1
– Terroristic Threats with Intent To Terrorize Another, Misdemeanor 1
– Simple Assault, Misdemeanor 2
– Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Misdemeanor 2

He remains lodged in the Clarion County Jail on $75,000.00 monetary bail.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, the investigation was initiated on October 4 when a Troop C criminal investigator responded to a location in Shippenville to speak with the victim about an alleged incident involving her ex-boyfriend, Branden Doty.

The victim told the investigator that she has known Doty for approximately five years but just started dating him in May. Doty moved into her South 7th Avenue residence in Clarion Borough around that same time. She said Doty started to get physically abusive with her about a week before her house burned down on July 20.

After the fire, the pair moved to a house on South 6th Avenue where they stayed for about a month. It was around this time that the victim’s two children were removed from her custody and placed in foster care, according to the criminal complaint.

Doty and the victim then “moved from place to place” within the Clarion area.

The victim told police that she was eventually able to leave Doty and stay with a friend.

Doty then allegedly located her children at foster care and took a video of them with his phone. He showed the video to the victim around September 15 at which time she agreed to meet with him to talk, the complaint states.

The victim said Doty showed her the video and said that “she needed to come back to him or he would kill her children.” The victim said she immediately went with Doty to a residence on Main Street in Clarion Borough, according to the complaint.

Later that evening, Doty allegedly made the victim go with him to a trailer at Trout Run Court in Clarion Township.

According to the victim, shortly after they arrived at the residence, she laid down in a back bedroom to sleep because she was not feeling well.

While the victim was asleep, Doty allegedly cut a hole in her pants and used a butane torch lighter to burn her pelvic area.

The victim told investigators that she woke up to extreme pain and “sat straight up,” according to the criminal complaint.

She said Doty immediately put his hand over her mouth and “didn’t move it until she had calmed down enough to not scream,” the complaint continues.

The criminal complaint states that Doty also told the victim it was her “punishment for leaving him” and that he would “follow through with killing her kids if she ever left again.”

According to the criminal complaint, the victim was examined by a nurse and a physician, both of whom confirmed her injuries were burn-related.

Doty was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Jarah Heeter on October 11 at 7:15 p.m.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Extreme graphic details were not included due to the sexual nature of the crimes.