Man arrested in connection with assault at N.H. Pitbull concert

Police in Gilford, New Hampshire said they arrested a man in connection with an assault that left a woman temporarily paralyzed at an August Pitbull concert.

Gregory Joseph, 33, of Rochester, N.H. was charged with one count of second degree assault, WBZ reported, for the alleged assault of Maddy Audet on Aug. 29. 

After the incident, Audet, 22, described the assault to The Boston Globe. When Pitbull was playing his third song, she heard a woman accuse one of her friends of stealing a drink and stepped in to deescalate the situation by offering to buy the woman a drink. Audet said a man climbed over three seats to get to her, and punched her with an uppercut that knocked her out. According to the Globe, witnesses later told Audet a woman assaulted her after she’d fallen.

“He punched me right under the jaw. I flew back about 5 feet…it was like I was in one of those superhero movies,” she said. “There was a girl on top of me, whaling me in the head four or five times.”

Though she was initially paralyzed — and has a confirmed blunt force trauma to her spinal cord — a Sept. 13 update in a GoFundMe to support her said Audet had been transferred to rehab and doctors were “hopeful” she’d be back to herself in four months.

“With the permission of the victim […], she would like to share that she has been able to begin walking with assistance and is striving to do so independently,” police told Boston 25 News.

According to WBZ, Gilford police interviewed 20 people during their investigation and analyzed videos from the concert.

Joseph has been released on personal recognizance, but could face three and a half to seven years in prison.

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