Prison for Atwater, Minn., man in sexual assault of woman at Willmar motel

WILLMAR — Aaron Bobby Phipps, 41, of Atwater, was sentenced Tuesday to 90 months in prison, plus a 10-year conditional release period and a $2,000 fine, on a third-degree charge of criminal sexual conduct for assaulting a woman last summer at a Willmar motel.
As part of his sentence handed down by District Judge Michael J. Thompson in Kandiyohi County District Court, Phipps was given credit for 155 days already served in custody and was ordered to register as a predatory offender.
As part of a plea agreement reac-hed in Jan- uary, two additional fe-lony charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and terroristic threats, plus a gross misdemeanor charge of fifth-degree assault, were dismissed.
The charges were filed after June 28, 2012, when Willmar police and CEE-VI Drug Task Force agents were called to the Viking Motel, along Business 71 North, on a report that a man was attempting to break into a motel room.
Officers arrived to find Phipps outside of the building, attempting to leave in a vehicle. He was stopped from leaving and was later arrested.
A woman at the motel reported that Phipps had grabbed her by the throat, pushed her into furniture and had acted as if he was going to strangle her with a cord.
He also made remarks about killing her and turning her into a prostitute.
The woman also reported that Phipps had sexually assaulted her.
Another individual had witnessed the assault and had helped the woman escape from Phipps.