It was not clear who represented him at arraignment in Attleboro District Court. A number listed for his Norton address was out of service. He was ordered held on $2,000 bail.

Robert A. Woodward Jr., 47, remained in custody Tuesday morning after his arraignment Monday on charges of assault and battery on a household or family member and malicious destruction of property over $250, court and law enforcement officials said.

A Norton man who’s been the subject of 22 prior restraining orders was arrested Sunday on charges of assaulting a woman and ransacking her home after she ended their six-month dating relationship, court records show.


Prosecutors had requested $10,000, citing factors including his 22 restraining orders, prior convictions, and failure in the past to show up for a court date, according to a legal filing. Further information on the restraining orders, including the filers and their relationships to Woodward, was not available Tuesday.

The government also cited Woodward’s “many” probation violations, court papers said.

According to an Attleboro police report, officers were called to a home on Sunset Road shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday because a woman there was “screaming for help.”

When police arrived, a 39-year-old woman said she had broken off her relationship earlier in the day with Woodward, and he left the house in a rage to begin drinking heavily. The woman also left the residence to pick up her mother, who uses a wheelchair, and returned home around 10 p.m., the report said.

She immediately noticed the gate had been smashed and that someone had tossed her belongings into the yard, according to the report.

Soon after, Woodward arrived at the house and allegedly spit in her face.

He also “kicked her in the lower back causing her to stumble,” the report said, and he fled as neighbors began to gather.


The woman declined medical attention, and police surveyed the extensive damage to the home.

“The wooden fence was smashed and torn from the hinges,” the report said. “Personal items such as bicycles and children’s toys were thrown all over the porch and yard. The pool and pool filter was destroyed and deflating. The grill was heavily damaged, bushes and a flag pole were knocked over. The hot tub had items thrown into it as well.”

Woodward was later arrested without incident at his home on Taunton Avenue, police said, and had bloodied knuckles when taken into custody.

He told police that “this happened earlier at his residence and had nothing to do with his arrest,” a legal filing said.

Woodward is due back in court on Aug. 25. He must submit to GPS monitoring and stay away from his accuser if he posts bail.

Norton police declined to comment on his prior arrest history, citing state laws limiting disclosure of a suspect’s criminal record and governing privacy rights for domestic abuse victims.

Marcia Szymanski of New Hope Inc., a nonprofit headquartered in Attleboro that helps victims of domestic and sexual abuse, said in an e-mail that 22 restraining orders is an unusually high number.

Syzmanski said her group also has a team in Bristol County that works with the district attorney’s office, police, and parole officers to monitor high-risk offenders.

Globe correspondent Sara Salinas contributed to this report. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.