Man Pushed, Choked Live-In Girlfriend, Police Say

A Bethlehem man is accused of choking his live-in girlfriend and the mother of his child during an argument at their Lehigh University apartment on Monday night, police said.

Irvin Ariel Cerrato-Jimenez, 22, who lived on Duh Drive in the Saucon Village Apartments at the Mountaintop Campus, was arrested by Lehigh University police on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

According to court papers, Cerrato-Jimenez pushed his girlfriend to the ground, while she was holding their 8-month-old infant. He then choked her with both hands and a forearm, police said.

Cerrato-Jimenez was arraigned before night duty District Judge David Tidd of Lower Saucon Township and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bail.