Father pleads ‘not guilty’ to assaulting daughter

Accused of punching and kicking his 13-year-old daughter for lying about eating some snacks, Amadeo Guerrero pleaded not guilty in District Court North Poulsbo on Monday to a charge of fourth-degree assault with a special allegation of domestic violence.

Guerrero, a 43-year-old East Bremerton resident, was arrested and booked into jail on Nov. 30 after his daughter reported to school officials that he punched her in the head and kicked her in the thigh and stomach for eating the last of some snacks.

She told the responding deputy that she was taking a shower on Nov. 29 when her dad kicked the door open and told her to come into the kitchen. When she went into the kitchen he reportedly became so enraged that he punched her in the head and kicked her in her right thigh and stomach. His daughter said she fell down from the intense pain of the blows, especially to her stomach. She told the deputy her father has kicked and punched her on a regular basis for as long as she can remember.

The girl showed the deputy a bruise on the right side of her forehead about 1 inch in diameter and older bruises and scrapes on her shins.

When questioned by deputies, the father, who has a black belt in martial arts, said he kicked her as a form of corporal punishment and said she didn’t fall to the ground when he kicked her. This was the first time he had kicked her, he said. He added that he has punched her from time to time as punishment.

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