An Oil City man accused of injuring a pregnant woman earlier this month waived his preliminary hearing in the case Wednesday in Venango County Central Court.
Christopher Burneisen, 41, is charged with one first-degree felony count of aggravated assault, one misdemeanor count of simple assault and one misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person in connection with the incident.
A criminal complaint filed through District Judge Patrick Lowrey’s office in Seneca said a woman came into the Oil City police station just before 5 p.m. Aug. 13 claiming she had been assaulted by Burneisen earlier in the week at 345 Emerald St. in Oil City.
The woman told police that Burneisen, who was aware she was pregnant, kicked her in the face, stomach and pelvic areas inside a vehicle after returning home from a grocery store where they had engaged in an argument, according to the complaint.
After moving inside the residence, Burneisen began yelling at the woman and elbowed her in the facial area, choked and scratched her neck and kicked her in the stomach area again, the complaint said.
The woman told police Burneisen then drove her to meet her father and dropped her off in Grove City.
The woman’s father picked her up and took her to a women’s hospital for treatment of her injuries and to check on the welfare of the fetus, according to the complaint.
After initially making contact with Oil City police on the night of Aug. 11 and Aug. 12 to report an assault, the woman was advised to file a formal report when she was able to go to the police station, the complaint said.
While filing the complaint, a police officer saw scratches around the woman’s neck, swelling above her left eye, bruising near her right eye and multiple cuts on her right hand, the complaint said.
The charges will now be bound over for further proceedings in the Court of Common Pleas.
Burneisen is free on $75,000 bond.
