Aurora Man Sentenced After Punching, Kicking Pregnant Girlfriend: SA

AURORA, IL — An Aurora man was sentenced to five years in prison after prosecutors found he repeatedly kicked and punched his pregnant girlfriend in March, officials said.

Alexander Authement, of the 1200 block of Andover Court, appeared at his sentencing hearing Oct. 31 where a judge handed him his sentence, which is one year less than the maximum allowable under law, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

The 29-year-old man was found guilty of four counts of aggravated battery of a pregnant victim, a felony, and four counts of domestic battery during a bench trial Sept. 9.

The guilty verdict stems from a March 23, 2022, altercation between Authement and his girlfriend, who was six months pregnant at the time. The two were involved in a verbal altercation that turned physical when Authement punched the woman in the face, pushed her to the ground and began kicking her, officials said. Family members had to physically pull Authement away to stop the beating, according to prosecutors.

Officers from the Aurora Police Department responded to the home and took Authement, who fled the scene, into custody a few hours later.

The woman was treated and assessed by medics at the home. The baby was unharmed in the incident, officials said.

At the time of the offense, Authement was on probation for domestic battery out of Kane County, officials said.

"Domestic abuse has no place in a civilized society," DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we continue to see violent attacks such as this across the country. In DuPage County, however, we have no tolerance for this type of violent behavior and will use every tool available to protect victims of domestic violence and hold their attackers responsible."

Berlin continued: "I thank the Aurora Police Department for their efforts on this upsetting case. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Kathleen Rowe and Adam Frahm for their work in securing a guilty verdict against the defendant."