Naval Officer Faces Jail Time For Domestic Assault

A U.S. Navy lieutenant commander has been sentenced to two years in prison for assaulting his wife in Newport last December.

A Providence Superior Court judge sentenced Jason Wenzel on Wednesday and also ordered him to undergo domestic violence counseling and a mental health evaluation. Wenzel pleaded no contest in June to domestic strangulation and domestic felony assault.

Newport police say they responded to a boat docked at the Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina at about 6 a.m. on Dec. 8 for a report of domestic violence. Wenzel’s wife told authorities that Wenzel assaulted and choked her, and she ran to the boat and called police.

Officials say Wenzel was attending the Naval War College at the time of the assault.

Wenzel remains assigned at Naval Station Newport.