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DECATUR — A Decatur man who told police he stayed with a physically abusive girlfriend because he “thought he could change her” was found by patrol officers walking away from his home at 4:30 a.m. Monday with multiple bleeding lacerations and scratches to his face, head and throat, a sworn affidavit said.

The 24-year-old victim, who has a disability and walks with a limp, is quoted as saying she pushed him down multiple times as well as repeatedly slapping and punching him, grabbing him by the throat and scratching him and then hitting him in the back of a head with a vase.

The man told police the woman’s assault was sparked by her wanting to throw him out of his residence after they got into an argument because he had found out she was cheating on him.

“(He) told me that (she) routinely batters him on a daily basis,” said Officer Brent Morey, writing in the affidavit. “He told me he thought he could change her so he stayed with her. He told me she is pregnant with his child.”