A St. Paul man kicked his 3-year-old daughter after she accidentally interfered with his video game last week, leaving her hospitalized with a lacerated pancreas, according to charges filed Friday.
Calvin D. Gillmore, 43, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with felony assault and malicious punishment of a child in connection with the attack. He initially told authorities the girl had been running around the house when she tripped over his feet.
The toddler remains in serious condition at St. Paul Children's Hospital.
Ramsey County Child Protection began investigating the suspected abuse shortly after she was admitted Jan. 13 with complaints of abdominal pain. A CT scan revealed a lacerated pancreas.
Midwest Children's Resource Center, a clinic specializing in child abuse, determined that her injuries were not consistent with a simple slip and fall.
"These injuries are diagnostic of a massive violent blow to the abdomen," a social worker wrote in her file.
St. Paul police later arrested Gillmore as he picked up his other children at school. During an interview, he claimed he'd been watching TV when the child came running through the living room and tripped over his shoes.
Gillmore has a history of assaults in Minnesota and Illinois.
