PRINCETON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Mercer County man has been charged after deputies say he assaulted a child during a domestic incident earlier this month.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Mercer County, deputies responded to a residence on Gardner Loop in the Princeton area on October 8 regarding an intoxicated man who refused to leave the property.
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Deputies say 42-year-old Dean Blankenship was found leaving the home when they arrived.
Blankenship told officers he had been assaulted by a juvenile inside the residence, and deputies noted he had a busted lip and smelled strongly of alcohol.
Inside the home, a witness told deputies that Blankenship became upset over a sock that had dog urine on it and rubbed it in the face of a 10-year-old girl.
The child confirmed the account, saying Blankenship rubbed the sock on her face after discovering it was soiled.
A juvenile male at the residence told deputies he struck Blankenship in defense of his sister.
Another witness stated that Blankenship had also pushed the sock into her own face during the incident.
When questioned, Blankenship admitted he had stepped in dog urine and said he was trying to “correct” his niece by making her “smell” it.
Blankenship was arrested and charged with domestic battery, third offense. Court records show he has prior convictions for domestic battery in 2006 and 2011, as well as a conviction for domestic assault in 2003.
