Bail is set at $100,000 for a Centralia man accused of beating a child under the age of 10 in August.
One of the child’s relatives reported the assault to the Centralia Police Department on Aug. 29.
The child had reportedly told his relative that Daniel Lee Cutter, 30, was the assailant. He later relayed the same information to investigators.
A doctor with the Providence Abuse Intervention Center who viewed photos of the child’s injuries reportedly confirmed “the bruises depicted in the photographs were consistent with an adult inflicting moderate to severe force to a child’s right upper arm and right facial cheek,” according to court documents.
The bruises were visible at least 24 hours after they were inflicted.
When contacted by Centralia detectives on Oct. 19, Cutter allegedly said “he had lost his temper with (the child) and ‘smacked’ him in the arm. He also said “when he hit (the child) in the arm, it was way harder than anybody ever needs to hit their kid” and he “repeated that he hit (the child) on the arm, and he wanted to take responsibility for that,” according to court documents.
He reportedly denied ever hitting the child “with a foreign object.”
During his interview with detectives, Cutter reportedly “said he had been going through some things” and said “he was suffering from drug use and he was suffering from mental health problems,” according to court documents.
Cutter was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 2:35 p.m. on Nov. 6, according to jail records. He currently faces one count of second-degree assault of a child, domestic violence.
While he has only been charged for the alleged August assault, a witness reportedly told investigators Cutter assaulted the child repeatedly between late 2019 and early 2023, according to court documents.
The alleged ongoing nature of the assault gave Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson concern for community safety, he said, which contributed to his $100,000 bail request at Cutter’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday.
Judge James Lawler agreed with Jackson’s community safety concerns on Tuesday and granted the $100,000 bail request. Lawler also issued a no-contact order protecting the child.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 16.
