Man charged for assaulting niece

A man who struck his three-year-old niece with a fly swatter has been charged with two counts of assault in the third degree and one count for endangering the welfare of a child.

In this case, KVZK News has opted to withhold the defendant's name to protect the victim's identity.

It's alleged the girl's mother told police her daughter was playing with her cousin, the defendant's son.

Court filings say while they were playing, the child threw a ball and hit her cousin’s face resulting in the cousin crying to his father, saying his tooth was about to fall out, and that's when the defendant struck the victim.

Officers at the scene observed red marks across the child’s left arm, lower back, and towards the front of her waist.

The defendant, who appeared in court this week, refused to make a statement to Police.