ST. THOMAS — A man is facing the charges for reportedly kicking down his daughter’s bedroom door and assaulting her during an argument.
Police were summoned to a residence in Estate Contant on Sunday afternoon, just around 5:30 p.m. Responding officers met a woman who said that about half an hour earlier, she had been awakened from her sleep by her father Avery Dawson, who barged into her bedroom demanding contact information for a family member.
She didn’t have the phone number Dawson was looking for and recommended that he ask his mother, the girl’s grandmother, for it. After leaving her room, her father came back a short while later, which led to an argument, reportedly because she had locked her door in his absence.
During the argument, Dawson allegedly kicked in his daughter’s bedroom door, damaging the door, its locking mechanism and the doorframe. The force applied was so great that it knocked over objects on the woman’s dresser, she told police.
Having forcefully gained entry to his daughter’s bedroom, Dawson is reported to have slapped her on the right side of her head hard enough to make the woman momentarily lose consciousness. She recounted to police how she regained consciousness as she started to fall, and managed to extend her hands to prevent additional damage.
The woman told police that her father assaulted her again in the kitchen, grabbing her face with his hand and pushing her backwards into a wooden bar stool. After the second incident, the woman said she left the house and called 911.
When questioned, Dawson’s mother told police that her son had a quick temper, and recalled hearing him yelling in the house.
For his part, Dawson admitted to kicking in his daughter’s bedroom door, grabbing her face and forcefully pushing her away. Ultimately, he was arrest and charged with third-degree assault, destruction of property, and disturbance of the peace, all as acts of domestic violence.
He was remanded into custody to await his advice of rights hearing.
In court on Monday, Magistrate Simone VanHolten-Turnbull found probable cause to uphold the charges against Dawson, and issued a pretrial release order, the details of which have not been made available to the public as of press time. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 22.
