St. Charles Twp. man gets 7-year prison sentence in domestic battery strangulation of 2 victims

‘He needed to be sent to prison to send the message that violence is no way to settle an argument’

By Kane County Chronicle

August 31, 2021 at 8:00 pm CDT

Jeffrey J. Haugen, 30, of St. Charles Township, was sentenced to seven years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea to felony aggravated domestic battery in the strangulation of two women. (Photo provided)

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – A judge agreed to a prison sentence of seven years in exchange for a guilty plea from a St. Charles Township man charged with felony aggravated domestic battery in the strangulation of two women, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.

Kane County Judge Salvatore LoPiccolo accepted the plea Aug. 30 from Jeffrey J. Haugen, 30.

Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Alexandra Gasparro stated in court that on March 30, 2019, Haugen and his girlfriend, the victim, were in an argument.

Haugen chased her upstairs, pushed her onto the bed, put her into a choke hold, obstructing her breathing, and then struck her in the head with her mobile phone.

Then on Jan. 18, 2021, while he was free on bond in the first case, Haugen and a new girlfriend were in an argument when Haugen placed his hands around the victim’s neck, and the victim lost consciousness to the point that she defecated, the release stated.

When Haugen let go of the victim, she escaped and grabbed a rock – but Haugen took the rock from her, struck her in the head with it, and then pushed her to the floor, breaking her nose.

According to Illinois law, Haugen must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence. He receives credit for the days he served in the Kane County jail, where he was being held on $150,000 bond for the past 180 days, records show.

Gasparro stated in the release that she was “proud of these two survivors for coming forward and seeing these cases through to the end.”

“I’m also grateful for the strength of these victims, and that the judge considered the seriousness and lethality of Mr. Haugen’s criminal behavior,” Gasparro stated in the release. “He had no criminal history, but the fact that he committed two violent domestic offenses against two victims in less than two years was concerning enough that he needed to be sent to prison to send the message that violence is no way to settle an argument.”