Man charged with beating infant

ST. MARIES — A man accused of choking his wife and beating an infant is being held on $85,000 bail.

The 44-year-old St. Maries man is charged with two counts of attempted strangulation, both felonies.

He is also charged with injury to a child, battery and domestic battery in the presence of a child, all misdemeanors.

The Press is not naming him at this time because that would reveal the identities of the victims.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office responded Friday night to a report of a domestic disturbance at a home near St. Maries.

A woman described to police a series of violent actions from her husband.

Two days before she contacted law enforcement, the woman said, her husband spanked their crying 10-week-old baby hard enough to bruise the child’s buttocks.

She said her husband then choked her, reprimanding her for “spoiling” the infant.

The woman provided police with photos of the child’s injuries.

She also gave police an audio recording that she said depicted her husband hitting one of their older children.

The man allegedly pinned the child down and hit the child’s head against the floor.

Police said “horrifying screaming” was audible in the recording.

The woman described other instances in which her husband allegedly slapped and choked her.

The couple’s pastor told police he had recently visited the family residence to mediate a dispute.

He said the man admitted to hitting his wife and children.

When questioned by police, the man allegedly admitted to spanking the baby hard enough to bruise, as well as to pushing one of his older children and repeatedly slapping another.

Police arrested him at his residence.

First District Judge Mayli Walsh ordered Monday that the man be held on $85,000 bail.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual abuse, call Safe Passage Violence Prevention Center’s 24-hour hotline: 208-664-9303.