Dustin Pierce (Lincoln County Jail).
A Missouri man is behind bars after cops say he repeatedly hit his wife’s 12-year-old daughter in the head, causing her to lose consciousness and suffer a concussion.
Dustin Woodrow Pierce is facing child abuse charges and remains at the Lincoln County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond. He faces between 10 and 30 years in prison if convicted. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Marcus Peebles responded to a domestic call shortly before 8 p.m. Nov. 22. Peebles arrived at the home and went upstairs.
“At the time of contact, the victim was hysterical, severely manic and repeatedly stated no and she was sorry,” Peebles wrote.
More from Law&Crime: ‘Strong odor of raw sewage’: Pair arrested after 4 kids, including malnourished 3-year-old with feeding tube, found in trash-infested home, cops say
The girl’s mother told Peebles she was downstairs and her daughter upstairs in her room. She said Pierce told her daughter to clean the room but she refused to do so, cops say. Pierce allegedly told the mother if she won’t “handle this, I will” and went to the victim’s room. The mother walked up to the room and as she got to the top of the stairs, she reportedly saw Pierce — who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and over 300 pounds — hit the girl in the head near her temple with the back of his hand three times. The mother told 911 dispatchers that her daughter had lost consciousness.
Pierce allegedly told the girl “you’re fine and you’re weak.” The mother told Pierce not to put his hands on the girl but he allegedly pushed her away and said he was going into town. As Pierce was yelling at the victim, she was “unable to respond.” When her mother checked on her, the girl began “breathing heavily” and screaming, according to Peebles. The deputy noted that he did not notice any injuries on the girl, but at the hospital doctors diagnosed her with a concussion. She also was “unable to maintain a proper balance,” per Peebles.
Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Wood told Lincoln News Now that further medical testing showed the 12-year-old girl had “substantial injuries to her brain.” The victim has to work with a physical therapist to regain motor functions, the outlet reported.
“We have to draw the distinction between what citizens would call is reasonable corporate punishment and strikes to the head,” Wood told the newspaper. “I can’t overstate … striking a child in the head will never be acceptable corporate punishment.”
According to prosecutors, Pierce is a military veteran with “severe” post-traumatic stress disorder who is currently slated to go to an “intensive in-patient” PTSD clinic on Dec. 30.
“Defendant has specialized military training and is a danger to himself and others,” prosecutors said.
Pierce is scheduled to be in court for a bond hearing on Monday.
