Dad pleads "no contest" to hitting 10-month-old daughter till her face was bloody (Billings, Montana)

Dad ROBERT KENNETH DECOTEAU was drunk and apparently "frustrated" because the baby was crying. So he hit her in the face hard enough to draw blood. Niiiice.

Notice that there is mention of other kids in the home on this Father's Day--but no mother. Makes me wonder if this was a custody/visitation situation....

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/18bb994defae46f48b2b39fedad1f3cc/MT--Infant-Assault

Billings man pleads no contest to hitting baby daughter on Father's Day

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS January 15, 2013 - 4:28 pm EST

BILLINGS, Montana — A 36-year-old Billings man has pleaded "no contest" to hitting his baby daughter on Father's Day 2012 because she was crying.

The Billings Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/XBGHKN) Robert Kenneth Decoteau told District Judge G. Todd Baugh on Monday that he would not contest a felony charge of assault on a minor.

The plea means he does not admit or dispute the charge, but the court treats it like a guilty plea. 

Decoteau was arrested on June 17 after police responding to a disturbance heard a child crying. Officers found Decoteau holding his 10-month-old daughter, who had blood on her face.

Several other children in the home told officers that Decoteau was intoxicated and hit the girl because she was crying.

Sentencing is set for March 4. ___ Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com