‘He Took My Breath — I’m Taking My Life Back’: Woman Faces Her Abuser After Mt. Airy Attack

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

A Maryland felon with a violent history of attacking women will spend more than four decades behind bars after strangling his girlfriend and threatening to kill her, according to Frederick County prosecutors.

Gary Michael Gouge, 42, of Mt. Airy, was sentenced to a total of 44 years in the Division of Correction for first-degree assault and violation of probation for a previous first-degree assault, the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office announced.

According to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded in January to a home in the 4500 block of Buffalo Road for a domestic disturbance in progress.

A caller told 911 that her sister was being attacked by her boyfriend, identified as Gouge, whom she had begun dating a few weeks earlier.

When deputies arrived, they could hear the victim screaming inside.

Inside the home, they found her hysterically crying and shaking, telling officers that Gouge had picked her up earlier that day to talk about “relationship issues,” prosecutors said.

Instead, prosecutors said, he became enraged — grabbing her, slamming her into a wall, and strangling her before pulling out a knife and threatening to kill her and her children.

Gouge told police he was “terrified” when they arrived because he had recently been released from prison after serving time for a prior domestic assault. He allegedly tried to blame the victim and changed his story multiple times.

In court, prosecutors detailed Gouge’s violent past:

In 2017, he strangled another girlfriend, held a gun to her head, and threatened to kill her after accusing her of cheating.

In 2013, he assaulted his former wife, also accusing her of cheating.

He was released early in 2023 — over the state’s objection, officials said.

The victim in the most recent case delivered a powerful statement in court:

“The day I almost lost my life is the only date I now remember. On that day, the defendant took my breath; today, with my breath, I get to tell him, I am taking my life back.”

Frederick County State’s Attorney Charlie Smith praised the sentence and condemned Gouge’s history of violence.

“Abusers who strangle are telling the victim that they can kill them. Strangulation increases the likelihood of future homicide,” Smith said.

“Abusers who violate their probation by abusing a partner again are the worst of the worst."

"This offender had two prior victims, and with this sentence, he will be appropriately behind bars — unable to hurt another woman for a very long time.”

Gouge was found guilty after a jury trial on July 31, 2025. Prosecutors had asked for a 54-year sentence.