A Columbia Falls man has been accused of abusing his three children on multiple occasions in 2014 and 2015.
Richard James Peterson, 24, pleaded not guilty on March 3 to two counts of felony assault on a minor in Flathead County District Court.
According to court records, law enforcement responded to a report of child abuse at Kalispell Regional Medical Center on Sept. 10, 2014. When the officer arrived they met with a family services worker who reported that Peterson had slapped his 18-month-old daughter in the face.
The officer then talked with a relative who said she was at the man’s house in Kalispell that morning when Peterson had become enraged and allegedly slapped the 18-month-old in the face, partially hitting his other child, who was three years old at the time. Peterson told the relative to get the children out of the house or he would “kill them.”
Six months later, law enforcement responded to another report of child abuse involving Peterson, who had since moved to Columbia Falls. On April 8, 2015, a Kalispell Police Department officer met with another service worker who had taken Peterson’s newly born three-month-old to the hospital. A medical assessment found that the baby was suffering from cranial swelling and bleeding on the brain. Doctors concluded that the injuries were sustained from being violently shaken.
Law enforcement began to interview people who had been charged with the child’s care but everyone denied shaking the baby. Law enforcement then interviewed Peterson. During the interview, Peterson admitted that he had anger issues and that he had hit his daughter in the face. Peterson said he slapped the girl because she had been screaming and crying for three hours, adding, “I know I shouldn’t have.”
Peterson said that when he would get frustrated with his children he would clench his fists and yell. Sometimes he would even go outside and punch trees. Peterson allegedly told the officer that he would sometimes blackout, adding that his anger “has its own agenda.”
“I can see myself hurting her, I can,” Peterson reportedly told police. “If it happened, it wasn’t me doing it on purpose.”
Peterson was charged with two counts of assault on a minor on Jan. 27. He is currently incarcerated on $50,000 bail.
When he was 19 years old, Peterson was accused of sexual intercourse without consent after having sex with a 14-year-old girl. He was convicted in 2014 and given a six-year deferred sentence. He was also convicted of bail jumping when he failed to show up at his own trial in October 2013.
If convicted of assault on a minor, Peterson could face up to 30 years in prison and more than $50,000 in fines. He is expected to go to trial in May.