A UND classics professor, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of assaulting a nurse and threatening another while he received psychiatric care, offered apologies to his victims Wednesday during his sentencing in state District Court.
"I'm as sorry as sorry can be," Daniel Erickson told Judge Karen Braaten.
Braaten ordered Erickson to serve eight months in jail or in a mental health treatment facility. He was given credit for having already spent 67 days in jail. He also must serve two years on supervised probation.
Erickson, who told the judge he has struggled for years with an alcohol addiction, has to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and abide any recommendations.
"I just want to get my life back on track again," he said in court. "I have to get myself into a program of sane and sober living."
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Erickson, 52, was accused of grabbing a nurse's hair and yanking her around July 16 at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks. It was also alleged that he threatened another nurse with a telephone receiver during the same incident.
He told the judge he was under the influence of alcohol at the time and thought he was simply touching the hair of the one nurse. "I consider myself a mild-mannered person," he said. "I'm the type of person who wouldn't hurt a fly."
Wednesday's sentence included a penalty for a drunken-driving charge brought against Erickson after he was pulled over Oct. 3 in Grand Forks with a blood-alcohol level of .11 percent. The legal limit in North Dakota is .08 percent.
UND spokesman Peter Johnson said Wednesday that Erickson is still a UND employee, but that a substitute has taken over his classes. Johnson said university officials will review Erickson's case and eventually decide how to proceed.
Erickson, who teaches courses on Latin and Greek languages and literature, has worked at UND for more than 10 years.
Ingersoll reports on crime and courts. Reach him at (701) 780-1269; (800) 477-6572, ext. 269; or send e-mail to aingersoll@gfherald.com .
