Tri-Cities father accused of ‘severe, possibly life-threatening’ abuse of young child

A Tri-Cities man is accused of yanking his daughter’s hair out, hitting her in the face and forcing her to sleep on the floor without blankets. Court documents describe the abuse as so severe that a medical provider called it potentially “life-threatening.”

The 7-year-old girl told her mother that Robert L. Gardner, 44, of Kennewick would get mad when she asked for food or to go outside, according to court documents. He allegedly would then lash out violently.

Prosecutors charged Gardner with second-degree assault and second-degree assault of a child in Benton County Superior Court. He is currently being held in Benton County jail on $80,000 bail.

The investigation began in July 2023 when the girl’s mother called police. She explained that Gardner had called her and said their daughter’s hair was falling out.

The woman drove from Oregon to Gardner’s home to pick up the girl. Once there, they got into an argument. The girl’s mother said she also noticed bruises on her daughter’s face.

The mother told officers that the girl said that Gardner lifted her into the air by her hair and then slammed her down, according to court documents. When she asked to call family members, the girl said Gardner would sometimes hit her in the chest.

He also allegedly pinned her to the ground with his knee on her throat, according to what the girl told her mother.

The woman also claimed they lived in unsanitary conditions and the girl was only fed once a week.

A Seattle Children’s Hospital nurse practitioner said the girl “has been the victim of severe, possibly life-threatening physical abuse,” according to court documents.

The nurse practitioner said the missing hair was caused by the girl’s hair being yanked toward the ceiling, which left her with bald spots. She also had injuries that showed she had been hit in the face and chest.

The exam also found bruises on her lower back, rear and thighs from either getting hit by a high-force spanking or an object.

When a child forensic interviewer in Newport tried to talk to the girl about Gardner, she refused and said when she talks about him she gets nightmares.

When Gardner spoke with detectives, he said the girl had been doing better than ever during the three months she stayed with him.

He said the girl arrived at his home with the bald spots and he texted the girl’s mother about them at the time, according to court documents

Gardner also claimed that the girl was physically dragged away by her mother and was crying to be returned to him. The video from the apartment complex didn’t match his story, court documents said.

This story was originally published April 2, 2024 at 10:35 AM.