Whatcom man suspected of hate crime assault of daughter after seeing her kiss girlfriend
A 38-year-old Whatcom County man is suspected of a hate crime after he allegedly hit his high school-age daughter in the head repeatedly and covered her mouth and nose for two minutes after she came out as bisexual.
The victim was examined at St. Joseph’s hospital in Bellingham after showing signs of a concussion the next day at school. She also had injuries on her back.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s office booked the man into Whatcom County Jail April 14 on suspicion of second-degree assault and malicious harassment (a hate crime). Jail records show he was released April 15 on $15,000 bail.
The Bellingham Herald has chosen not to identify the man who was arrested in an effort to protect the identity of the victim.
Deputies were called to a Whatcom County high school at approximately 1:50 p.m. April 14 after a school counselor called to report that a 15-year-old student was brought to the nurse’s office after presenting signs of a concussion and telling the counselor that she had been physically assaulted by her father the night before, according to Whatcom County Superior Court documents released Wednesday, April 20.
The victim told deputies that her father saw her kissing her girlfriend, which resulted in her coming out to her father as bisexual, documents state.
The father then began hitting the victim in the head with the heel of his hand multiple times, documents state, and he covered her mouth and nose to prevent her from breathing for two minutes. The victim reported her father then shoved her, which caused her to fall back into a door frame.
The victim told deputies she believed her father assaulted her because he disapproved of her sexual orientation, documents state.
Deputies interviewed the victim at St. Joseph’s hospital, where she was being examined for her injuries. Doctors confirmed that the victim was presenting signs of a concussion, documents state, and deputies observed an abrasion on her back that was consistent with falling hard into an object.
Deputies interviewed the father at the family’s home, and he confirmed that he and his daughter got in a “heated” argument, but did not mention the alleged assault.
Resources
LGBTQ+ resources in Whatcom County:
▪ Northwest Youth Services’ Queer Youth Project: 360-303-7991, email: Hannahg@nwys.org.
▪ Trevor Project: 866-488-7386, thetrevorproject.org.
▪ Whatcom County’s DVSAS (Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services) has a list of multiple support agencies in the area at dvsas.org.
