ROCHESTER, Minn. - Stabbing a teenager is sending a Mower County man to prison.

Benjamin Randel Pater, 25 of Waltham, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. He was arrested on December 7, 2023, after a 15-year-old boy showed up at St. Marys Hospital with stab wounds to the thigh and neck.

The Rochester Police Department says Pater pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed the 15-year-old during a fist fight. Investigators say Pater is a father-figure to a 14-year-old girl and went to fight the 15-year-old after the teen sent the 14-year-old girl a photo.

Pater has now been sentenced to 18 months in prison, with credit for time served

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