University of Minnesota professor pleads guilty to strangling girlfriend
Photo Courtesy: Hennepin County Jail
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A University of Minnesota professor pleaded guilty to domestic assault for strangling his girlfriend after an argument last year.
As part of the agreement, 47-year-old Aaron Doering will be sentenced to a year in the workhouse, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. He will serve 180 days in the workhouse and as long as he follow the terms of his two-year probation, he will not have to serve the other 185 days. As part of his probation, he must undergo treatment for alcohol addiction and mental health.
The charges stated that on Dec. 26, Doering and his girlfriend had been drinking and got into an argument over whether Doering was having an affair. The girlfriend told police the argument escalated as Doering eventually grabbed her by the hair, dragged her around the apartment and hit her. She told investigators Doering choked her to the point where she could not breathe and was starting to lose consciousness.
When Doering made his guilty plea Thursday, he said he did not remember the exact details of the incident because he had been drinking. He did state his girlfriend's account was true and that a jury would find him guilty if the case went to trial.
Doering will be sentenced on June 19.