Inset: Rafe A. Chikovsky (Broward County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in Florida where Chikovsky allegedly battered his pregnant girlfriend (Google Maps).
A 27-year-old public defender in Florida was arrested after being accused of physically abusing his pregnant girlfriend, allegedly spitting in her face and strangling her while the two were arguing late last month.
Rafe Asa Chikovsky was taken into custody and charged with one count of domestic battery by strangulation and one count of aggravated battery on a pregnant person, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. According to a probable cause affidavit, officers with the Parkland Police Department at about 4:35 p.m. on Oct. 20 responded to a call regarding a possible domestic battery incident at a residence in the 11000 block of North Heron Bay Boulevard. The home is about 45 miles north of Miami.
Upon arriving, first responders said they met with the victim, who claimed that she and Chikovsky, her boyfriend, had just gotten into a “verbal altercation” while driving to her residence. The victim said that while they were in the car, Chikovsky kept demanding that she perform oral sex on him. She repeatedly “told him no,” but after he continued to ask, she said she “gave in to his request.”
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At the victim’s home, the couple continued fighting and Chikovsky allegedly “spit in her face multiple times” and then repeatedly pushed her to the ground.
Once the fight “calmed down,” the victim said, she and Chikovsky laid down together to take a nap. However, the victim claimed that Chikovsky was interested in more than just sleeping.
“She said a while later he jumped up and started having sex with her ‘without her consent,'” the affidavit says. “[The victim] advised that Chikovsky didn’t hold her down while having sex, but relayed she gave him a face that she wasn’t enjoying what he was doing.”
The affidavit says that the woman “advised ‘he didn’t rape me.'”
After the sexual encounter, the couple once again fought. This time, the victim said Chikovsky “grabbed the back of her sweater and pulled it tight against the front of her neck, which made it hard for her to breathe,” police wrote.
At the time of the alleged attack, the victim said Chikovsky was aware that she was pregnant, as he had accompanied her to a recent ultrasound appointment. She also alleged that it was not the first time Chikovsky had abused her since they had begun dating more than a year ago.
“[The victim] advised that for the past year, Chikovsky has been physically aggressive with her and [she] has had injuries on multiple occasions that she just forgave,” the affidavit states.
Police said the victim had a long and visible red mark on her throat that was “consistent with being strangled” as well as multiple contusions on her elbows, legs, and chest.
Chikovsky was placed under arrest and transported to the Broward County Jail for processing. He was released after posting 10% of his $15,000 bond. It was not immediately clear when Chikovsky was next scheduled to appear in court.
