CORRECTION: The victim in this case was misidentified as the mother of the defendant in the original version of this story.
CLEARFIELD – A Rockton man accused of assaulting a woman and refusing to allow her to get medical treatment pleaded guilty Monday in Clearfield County Court.
Mitchell David Kohler, 33, was sentenced by Judge Paul Cherry to 305 days to two years less one day in the county jail for simple assault.
He was ordered to complete anger management counseling.
Originally, he was also charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment.
It was noted that he has already served his time and would be paroled from the county jail on Monday.
Currently, Kohler is an inmate of state prison where he is serving a 24-month to five-year state prison sentence for violating his probation by committing this crime. Court documents indicate he was on probation for a terroristic threats charge from 2018.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Nov. 12, 2019, police responded to a DuBois residence at a request from a family member to remove Kohler from the home.
When police arrived, they knocked at the door and received no response. They then called Kohler and negotiated with him so they could be allowed inside to check on the welfare of the victim.
Once inside, police say they saw the victim laying in a fetal position on a love seat in the living room.
Initially she told police she had fallen. But after Kohler was taken to another part of the house, she reportedly said he struck her in the back and she was now having extreme difficulty breathing.
Because of the seriousness of the injury, it was determined that Kohler should be taken into custody immediately.
When officers asked him to turn around and place his hands behind his back, he asked why and did not comply. He was then forced to the ground where he reportedly struggled with the officers as he was placed in handcuffs.
After the victim was taken to a hospital for treatment, it was discovered she had suffered a fractured rib and a collapsed lung, according to the report.
She told police that she and Kohler were arguing when he pulled her off the couch and struck her in the back with his fist.
After this, she reported that she was having difficulty breathing and screamed in pain.
He allegedly denied her access to medical assistance and covered her mouth with his hands, telling her to be quiet because she was attracting attention.
She told investigators that he said she was not injured, picked her up and forced her onto the couch.
She also stated that at some point during that day, Kohler was opening and closing his pocket knife saying “I should have put this through your temple,” according to the complaint.
