1 week after Minnesota Sex Offender Program staffer beaten in Moose Lake facility, 4 more hurt in new attack
MOOSE LAKE, Minn. – One week after a staff member at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake was brutally assaulted by a client inside the facility, four more staff members were hurt in another assault Monday afternoon.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services, which oversees the MSOP, says a client hit a security counselor with a chair, and three other staff members were injured when they intervened.
The client was removed by the facility's security team. DHS officials say no law enforcement or medical first responders were dispatched to the facility.
The four staffers were brought to an area hospital, though the DHS says no one was seriously hurt.
"We try to be very cautious when staff are injured, so it is common to send them for a medical exam under circumstances like these," said DHS's Christopher Sprung.
The MSOP will determine if criminal charges should be filed with the Carlton County Attorney's Office.
Charges were filed against 29-year-old client Nicolas Aron-Jones in connection to the May 1 attack on a security counselor.
According to the criminal complaint, Aron-Jones – who was committed to the program as "a sexually dangerous person" in 2015 – allegedly hit the counselor in the back of the head with a pillow case containing a fan motor when he was making the rounds in his unit.
The counselor fell on the ground, and Aron-Jones is alleged to have struck him several more times with the motor, before stomping on his head eight times. He was eventually subdued with the help of a chemical spray.
Witnesses say Aron-Jones yelled, "His man saved his life because I was going to kill that motherf___er," and, "I bust that motherf___er's face…bust his head open with the motor of my fan and stomped on his motherf__ing face," the complaint read.
The counselor suffered multiple injuries in the attack, including a traumatic subarachnoid hematoma, which is bleeding around the brain.
The victim was airlifted to a Twin Cities hospital, and Aron-Jones was arrested by county deputies.
"We are deeply disturbed by such a brutal, senseless attack," said Nancy Johnston, the MSOP's executive director. "I'm grateful to those who tried to intervene and protect our coworker. Our hearts are with him and his family, and we'll be there to support him as he recovers."
Aron-Jones is charged with second-degree attempted murder, in addition to first-, second- and fourth-degree assault. He faces up to 49 years in prison if convicted.
