Opinion ID: 2600609
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Defendant's Prior Acts of Child Abuse

Text: D. Robertson lived with defendant for about three years, starting in late 1983, and had two children with him, S. and J. Around the time the children were one to three years old, defendant struck both children when they whined or did not behave. He slapped them upside the back of their heads, sometimes smacking them so hard that their heads would bounce off the table. He slapped the children on the head at least one to three times a week. He would also use karate kicks. He concentrated his kicking on S., kicking her between five and 10 times. Robertson never reported these acts to the police, but she did report them to child protective services. Defendant separated from Robertson in July 1987, taking the two children with him. Robertson obtained a restraining order against defendant two months later, alleging he had sexually molested S. She made a similar allegation in 1989. However, although the alleged sexual molestations were investigated, defendant was never charged. Robertson eventually regained custody of the two children. She was arrested in 1989 for a shooting incident and was convicted of the misdemeanor of negligently discharging a firearm.