Flathead District Court Judge Robert Allison on Thursday denied a request for bond reduction made by a man accused of slapping a toddler and shaking an infant.

Richard James Peterson, 23, is being held on $50,000 bail for two felony counts of assault on a minor for separate abuse incidents that allegedly occurred in 2014 and 2015.

“Mr. Peterson has a conviction for bail jumping and he has a conviction for an offense against a person,” Allison said. “I don’t feel under the circumstances that it would be appropriate for me to release bond.”

Peterson’s attorney Sean Hinchey noted that it has been almost a year since the alleged incidents occurred, that the victims are now in the care of Child Protective Services, and Peterson immediately notified his probation officer of the allegations, as required by law.

Peterson is serving a five-year suspended sentence for bail jumping and a six-year deferred sentence for sexual intercourse without consent that was handed down three years ago.

Peterson testified that he has a job as a roofer and has been working for the past three years, though he has not filed a tax return during that time.

Prosecuting attorney John Donovan said the bail amount is appropriate given that one of the victims was an infant who was taken to the hospital with “cranial swelling and bleeding of the brain.”

“I think there is a danger to the community if the defendant is released,” Donovan said.

According to court documents, the first alleged assault occurred on Sept. 10, 2014, when a family member told a Child Protective Services worker that she had been at Peterson’s home when he slapped an 18-month-old toddler in the face.

The woman also allegedly told the officer that Peterson had also clipped a 3-year-old child before he told her to get the children out of the house or he would “kill them.”

A separate incident on April 8, 2015, involved a 3-month-old child who was brought to the emergency room with serious injuries.

The child had been transported to the hospital by the same Child and Family Services worker. The baby was suffering from cranial swelling and bleeding on the brain likely caused by violent shaking by an adult, medical staff determined.

On May 19, Peterson allegedly told a detective he had slapped the child in the face in the first incident because she had been screaming and crying for three hours.

Peterson allegedly told the officer he knew that he should not have treated the child that way.

In regard to the second incident, Peterson allegedly said he would sometimes go outside and punch trees in an attempt to relieve anger triggered by the child’s crying.

When the officer told Peterson that he was concerned Peterson might have hurt the child, Peterson allegedly said, “I can see myself hurting her, I can,” and “If it happened, it wasn’t me doing it on purpose.”

A jury trial has tentatively been set for May 31.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.