A man accused of strangling a child at the Chehalis Walmart on June 13 has been charged with one count of second-degree assault of a child under the age of 13.
The charge is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
A witness reported seeing a male, who has since been identified as Daniel Travis Kaufman, 41, of Olympia, grab a child “in a chokehold … as he carried the child back to his vehicle,” according to charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
The witness reported that “she could not hear much due to the noise coming from her own car, but saw that the child ran back to a female, believed to be her mother.”
An officer with the Chehalis Police Department conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle Kaufman and the child were seen getting into.
The officer noted Kaufman “was visibly upset and was displaying aggressive behavior towards him,” and that the child “(was) appearing genuinely afraid of (Kaufman),” according to court documents.
When questioned, Kaufman reported that he had a child exchange with the child’s mother, but the child “was refusing to go with him” and “kept getting out of his vehicle and going back to her mother.” Because she kept leaving, Kaufman allegedly said he “grabbed her around the waist and neck in a ‘quasi rear naked choke,’ but said he did not choke her,” according to court documents.
The child’s mother later corroborated Kaufman’s narrative.
The officer noted that the child “did not have any visible marks on her body from being held by Kaufman.” When questioned, the child reported that “she felt pain and that her breathing was constricted due to pressure on the front part of her neck” when Kaufman allegedly picked her up.
Kaufman was charged in Lewis County Superior Court on Sept. 20 and was issued a summons notice for an Oct. 7 preliminary hearing, which he was present for.
A judge ruled Monday to allow Kaufman to remain out of custody on $50,000 unsecured bail for the duration of his case.
A no-contact order protecting the child is in place until the case is resolved.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 17.
