LCPD: El Paso man, 28, beat girlfriend, 17, after giving her wine and whiskey

Police in Las Cruces arrested an El Paso man who allegedly provided alcohol to his 17-year-old girlfriend before physically assaulting her Tuesday morning.

28-year-old Jonathan Oberg, of the 400 block of south Mesa Hills Drive in El Paso, is charged with third-degree felony counts of child abuse and aggravated battery against a household member, and a fourth-degree felony count of selling or giving alcoholic beverages to a minor.

Police were dispatched to the report of a woman screaming and crying near the 100 block of east University Avenue in Las Cruces at about 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 23, 2018.

Officers arrived to find the 17-year-old girl “highly intoxicated and with noticeable signs of bruising about her body,” police said in a news release. Officers located Oberg, who initially told investigators the teenager was his wife and she was 21 years old.

The teenager was transported to Memorial Medical Center and then to a hospital in El Paso.

Investigators learned Oberg and the 17-year-old traveled by bus from El Paso to Las Cruces and rented a room at the Econo Lodge on South Valley Drive. Oberg purchased two bottles of wine and a bottle of whiskey, and the couple started drinking, police said. Oberg allegedly assaulted the girl during an argument.

Oberg is accused of pushing the young woman to the ground and strangling her. Police said the girl had visible scratch marks on her neck and forearm along with a swollen lip.

The 17-year-old girl has since been turned over to the custody of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department.

Oberg was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center. He was released on October 25, 2018.