Additional Charges For Peabody Police Officer Accused Of Abuse

PEABODY, MA — Prosecutors filed two new assault and battery charges against a Peabody police officer already accused of abusing and trying to strangle his girlfriend. The new charges against Brendan O'Brien, 42, of Buxton Street in Peabody, stem from incidents involving the same woman on New Year's Eve and in May. The woman told police about those incidents after Buxton was arrested in September.

O'Brien, who plead not guilty to the new charges Wednesday, was initially accused of trying to strangle the woman on Aug. 24 after she confronted him about text messages from another woman. In September, a judge revoked his bail after used a false Facebook identity to "like" a photo the victim had posted about Josh Gordon returning to the Patriots. O'Brien has been on paid, administrative leave since the woman accused him of trying to strangle her last month when she told him he was breaking up with him.