Stepfather choked girl, 6, during homework argument, police say

A stepfather choked a 6-year-old girl after an argument over her spelling homework, police said.

When the girl was having trouble with the word “color,” her stepfather responded to her attempts to sound out the word by picking her up by her throat and raising her off the ground, police said.

Perryville police arrested Kevin Gilbert Rollet, 27, of Perryville, Missouri, on Thursday.

The Perry County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Rollet with second-degree domestic assault and child abuse.

His bond was set at $10,000 cash or surety, with the condition Rollet abstain from contact with the victim or the victim’s mother.

Officers met the victim’s mother about 4 p.m. Thursday in front of an apartment complex on Wichern Road. The victim’s mother said she struck Rollet in an attempt to get him to release the girl, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by police officer Jordan Bain.

Officers took Rollet into custody at the scene and took the victim to a hospital, Bain wrote.

The mother said she heard Rollet and the girl arguing over homework in the kitchen while she was in the bedroom, according to the statement.

The mother demanded Rollet stop yelling at her daughter, and Rollet kicked the victim’s chair out from under her, Bain wrote.

The girl began screaming, and Rollet put his hand over her mouth, according to the statement.

He picked up the child by the neck with one hand as the mother told him to stop. He grabbed the girl’s throat with both hands and squeezed, according to the statement.

The mother said she “assaulted” Rollet to get him to stop, Bain wrote.

The mother left the residence with the girl, Bain wrote.

Bain observed light bruising around the victim’s neck, according to the statement.

Rollet told officers the victim started screaming while she was doing her homework in the kitchen, Bain wrote.

He said he would put his hand over her mouth if she did not stop, according to the statement.

The victim’s mother entered the room and began yelling at him, Bain wrote.

Rollet went to the bathroom, and both of them were gone, according to the statement.

Bain wrote that Rollet changed his story, saying he saw the victim and the mother leave the parking lot. He denied hitting the child.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

000 Wichern Road, Perryville, Mo.