A 2-year-old child witnessed a violent assault by the child’s father, Nathan James Sumpter, on the child’s mother in Oroville, California. The Butte County District Attorney’s Office reported that Sumpter was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison following the incident.
According to prosecutors, Sumpter pleaded no contest to felony charges of assault likely to cause great bodily injury and dissuading a witness. He also faced a misdemeanor charge for violating an existing restraining order against him.
Despite the restraining order, Sumpter went to the woman’s home on July 8. Law enforcement responded but did not find him after he hid and threatened the woman and her family if they revealed his presence. After officers left, prosecutors said Sumpter attacked the woman by punching her in the face and strangling her.
“Sumpter’s brutality continued the next morning when he strangled her to the point of unconsciousness and stomped on her face in front of their 2-year-old child,” prosecutors stated.
After realizing that the woman was unresponsive, Sumpter called her aunt for help. The authorities were contacted again, and emergency responders took the woman to a hospital where she received treatment for a fractured eye socket.
Sumpter fled from the home before being arrested later by law enforcement officials. The incident occurred in Oroville, which is located about 70 miles north of Sacramento.
Attorney information for Sumpter was not immediately available.
