YOUNGSTOWN — A 67-year-old Slippery Rock, Pa., woman who was charged with felonious assault in a July 6 case involving her ex-boyfriend in Beaver Township, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault Thursday and was sentenced to two years of probation.

Deborah A. Pantone could have received several years in prison, but the victim told prosecutors he “has no desire to proceed further with this prosecution,” said Mahoning County Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Paris, quoting from notes provided by another assistant prosecutor who was primarily handling the case.

The victim was notified of the reduction in the charge to a misdemeanor and “had no objection to it, just wants this situation to be over and to move on with his life,” Paris told Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony D’Apolito. The victim did not attend the hearing.

Pantone was ordered to get an assessment to determine whether she has an alcohol problem and she must engage in treatment if she does.

The judge imposed a no-contact order with the victim.

Paris said the incident began with Pantone coming to the victim’s home, and he “initially did welcome the defendant into the home. There was a verbal altercation that escalated into a physical confrontation where there was one punch. The defendant punched the victim in the mouth, and I believe there was an injury to his jaw or his nose.”

Paris said there was a “substantial injury there.” She said Pantone was also charged with misdemeanor theft for taking two bottles of wine from the refrigerator when she left the home. Pantone believed those were hers, Paris said. Prosecutors were dismissing that charge in exchange for Pantone’s guilty plea to the assault, Paris said.

Ron Yarwood, Pantone’s attorney, said Pantone was in a relationship with the victim, who is nine years younger than her. The victim made a remark to Pantone that would “shock the conscience,” and Pantone “did react. She did hit him. Apparently he was significantly injured from that injury,” Yarwood said.

She took her own wine with her when she left, he said. Yarwood said Pantone has “never been in trouble before.”

Paris said she “wholeheartedly” agrees with the plea agreement reached in the case, “given the totality of the circumstances, the volatility between the two of them.”

When the judge asked about the nature of the injury to the victim, Paris said he had an alleged fracture to some area of the face — “possibly nose, orbital bone or jaw.” Paris said she was “standing in on the case” for another assistant prosecutor and not certain “of what the ultimate injuries are. I do believe at this point he has healed from his injuries based on the notes” from the other assistant prosecutor.

Paris said she does not believe there are any “longstanding repercussions physically for (the victim), and he has moved on and has no desire to proceed with this matter.”

The judge asked if Pantone could provide him with a better idea of what the victim said to her that caused her to assault him. Pantone said she told the victim about the traumatic, personal misfortune Pantone’s daughter was experiencing and the victim remarked that he didn’t care if it happened 10 times. “I reacted to that, and I regret it,” Pantone said.

D’Apolito said he does not condone her reaction, but “I can understand it. I understand a mother’s reaction to a tragedy like that.”

A Beaver Township Police Department states that when an officer arrived at the home where the assault took place, the victim was “shaken” and holding the left side of his jaw and neck. There was redness and slight swelling in that area.

The victim said he had broken off the relationship with Pantone earlier that week, but when Pantone showed up at his house, he allowed her in. He said he told Pantone to leave after she insulted his dead wife.

He said Pantone is a “former kickboxer and is trained in how to fight,” the report states. No mention of Pantone being trained in how to fight was mentioned during the hearing.

Charges were filed against Pantone four days after the assault after the victim gave police a typed statement, the report states.