South Bend man accused of child assault

Published 9:26 am Monday, May 6, 2024

SOUTH BEND — Alleged child abuse has landed a South Bend man in the Pacific County Jail after allegations were reported to law enforcement by the South Bend School District. The man posted bail on Sunday, May 5.

Daniel J. Cushman, 38, was arrested on May 2 by the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office. He allegedly assaulted a child to the point that they were transported to Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma.

The incident reportedly began when the alleged victim, age 7, got in trouble the night before, which led to Cushman allegedly putting a pillow over the child’s head and spanking the child.

According to court records, the child told a staff member at Mike Morris Elementary School that when the pillow was on their face, they “couldn’t breathe,” and then they were spanked, screamed at and sent to their room.

“[The alleged victim] informed the [staff member] that [their] neck hurt from Daniel pushing the pillow on [their] face, and explained [they] had red and purple marks on [their] side from the spanking,” investigating Deputy Kevin Acdal stated in court records.

“[The staff member] attempted to see the bruising on [the alleged victim], but [they] refused and stopped talking about the incident,” Acdal added.

The alleged victim was taken to Willapa Harbor Hospital by their family for an evaluation and did not want to show hospital staff their injuries.

“[The mother] first denied having knowledge of Daniel covering [the child’s] face with a pillow,” Acdal stated. “Later, [she] discloses that she thinks Daniel did in fact mention to her that he had asked [the child] about if she wanted to know how ‘being smothered’ felt.”

According to court records, the entire incident began because the alleged victim knocked over a bottle that hit a 17-month-old sibling in the head. Cushman allegedly ran to check on what had happened and then proceeded to spank the alleged victim — and the child scratched him.

“Daniel admits he lost control and stated he felt he may have spanked [the alleged victim] to (sic) hard,” Acdal stated.

Cushman also allegedly told investigators that he never put a pillow over the alleged victim’s face and instead alleged that he “shoved it towards [the alleged victim] to scare [them].”

The alleged victim was subsequently transferred to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma for an additional evaluation. Doctors allegedly discovered “significant and extensive” bruising on the child, which reportedly included red dots on their eyelids consistent with strangulation.

Doctors also found bruising on the child’s rear and lower back.

“It appears there is a circular bruise on the top left…indicating an object may have been used,” Acdal stated.

Acdal and PCSO Detective Cory Nacnac responded to Tacoma with the Tacoma Police Department and took Cushman into custody. He was transported back to the Pacific County Jail and booked for one count of second-degree assault against a child.

Second-degree assault against a child is a Class B felony with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. However, under Washington state sentencing guidelines, the standard range for an offender with an offender score of 0 is 31-41 months with a mid-range of 36 months.