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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah immigration lawyer has been sentenced to 36 months of probation after pleading guilty to stalking and assault after what charging documents called "unstable and volatile behavior" in early 2020.
Aaron Tarin, 42, of Herriman was charged in two felony cases in June 2020, accepted plea deals in both cases in May of this year, and was sentenced on Friday. He was a prominent immigration lawyer in Utah, with citizenship in both the U.S. and Mexico.
In May 2020, Tarin's ex-wife reported concerning behavior including angry emails and voicemails from Tarin saying he was placing a car with microphones and cameras outside her home, according to charging documents.
Police arrested Tarin at the airport while he was attempting to buy a ticket, and Tarin told police at that time he had a bomb in his suitcase and children he had assaulted in his basement, the documents said. Police found those claims were not true, but they found concerning things at Tarin's home including surveillance equipment.
In the case related to this behavior, Tarin pleaded guilty to stalking, a third-degree felony; a charge for threat of terrorism, a second-degree felony, was dismissed.
In the other case, he pleaded guilty to assaulting and sexually abusing a woman who came to his home to discuss custody on behalf of his ex-wife. Tarin was sentenced for convictions of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, and sexual battery, a Class A misdemeanor. Charges of kidnapping, a second-degree felony, and assault, a class B misdemeanor, were dismissed.
Tarin was sentenced to less than five years in prison in both cases, but the prison terms were suspended as long as he completes probation. The probation terms for the two cases will be served simultaneously, 3rd District Judge Amber Mettler said.
Tarin was also ordered to have substance abuse, mental health, and domestic violence evaluations and comply with any recommended treatments from those evaluations. He was also told to take an anger management course, not take drugs or alcohol, and stay away from the victim in his sexual assault case.
