Tumwater man accused of assaulting daughter during visitation

Bail was set at $50,000 Monday for a Tumwater man accused of assaulting his daughter.

Pablo L. Bellon, 48, appeared Monday in Thurston County Superior Court on one count of second-degree assault of a child (strangulation/domestic violence). Arraignment was set for Oct. 11.

Court documents give the following account:

Bellon was arrested late Saturday (Sept. 24) after Tumwater police responded to a child abuse complaint from his ex-wife, who is the mother of his three children.

The school-aged victim told police that during their scheduled visitation, Bellon had gotten mad at her for “not moving fast enough” as she got ready for bed. She said Bellon grabbed her by the neck, picked her up with both hands and started shaking her while yelling at her for not listening.

The girl told police that she could not talk or breathe because Bellon was squeezing her neck so hard. She said he then put her down, grabbed her stomach, picked her up again and started squeezing with his hands.

A Tumwater police officer called for medical personnel to check and treat the girl for stomach pain. No injuries were reported.

The children’s mother said she had divorced Bellon two years ago because of similar but unreported assaults against her. One of Bellon’s other children said the father had been drinking beer and appeared to “snap” when he grabbed the girl.

Bellon has no prior criminal history. At Monday’s hearing, Judge Erik Price ordered that Bellon have no contact with the victim or any other minor children, and that he refrain from consuming alcohol.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Tumwater man accused of assaulting daughter during visitation."