A Kalispell man has been charged with assaulting a 3-year-old child.

Alen Clay Storm, 34, was booked and released from the Flathead County Detention Center on Oct. 7 after the County Attorney’s Office filed one felony count of assault on a minor.

According to charging documents, the Sheriff’s Office received a report on Aug. 12 about an incident from the child’s mother.

She told a deputy she and Storm were in a relationship and he had stayed with her and her children at her residence. The woman said a month prior to the incident she found Storm in the children’s bedroom at 3 a.m.

She said Storm told her he was separating the children because one was crying and he didn’t want the child to wake the other. The mother was suspicious and installed security cameras in the children’s bedroom.

The mother then said she was checking recent footage of the bedroom and saw Storm allegedly enter her 3-year-old son’s bedroom at 7:48 a.m. The video reportedly depicted the child crying in his bed and Storm standing over him asking “what are you crying for?”

In the footage, it also appears Storm held the child down for several seconds while the boy kicked his legs, according to the court document. Storm then lets up and the child gasps for air.

The child was later found to have a red mark on his chin, bruising on his upper chest and apparent petechiae at the base of both ears. Petechiae appear when capillaries bleed, leaking blood into the skin.

The woman said the child pointed to his neck several times and said “Alen hurt me.”

According to the charging document, when Storm spoke with officers, he allegedly admitted placing his hands over the child’s mouth to keep him from screaming. Storm also allegedly admitted the child probably could not breathe well when it happened and that he used more force than necessary.

Storm’s arraignment on the charge is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in the Montana State Prison.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or [email protected].