A man convicted by a judge after a trial last month for strangling a child at the Chehalis Walmart on June 13, 2024, was sentenced Friday to three-and-a-half years in prison.
Daniel Travis Kaufman, 41, of Olympia, was charged Sept. 20, 2024, with one count of second-degree assault of a child after the Chehalis Police Department investigated a witness’s report that a man grabbed a child in a “chokehold” while carrying the child to a vehicle, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
An officer with Chehalis Police Department who conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle Kaufman and the child were seen getting into noted Kaufman “was visibly upset and was displaying aggressive behavior towards him,” and that the child “(was) appearing genuinely afraid of (Kaufman),” according to court documents.
When questioned, Kaufman reported that he had a child exchange with the child’s mother, but the child “was refusing to go with him” and “kept getting out of his vehicle and going back to her mother.”
Because she kept leaving, Kaufman said he “grabbed her around the waist and neck in a ‘quasi rear naked choke,’ but said he did not choke her,” according to court documents.
The officer noted that the child “did not have any visible marks on her body from being held by Kaufman.” When questioned, the child reported that “she felt pain and that her breathing was constricted due to pressure on the front part of her neck” when Kaufman picked her up.
A judge ruled Oct. 7 to allow Kaufman to remain out of custody on $50,000 unsecured bail for the duration of his case.
He had a non-jury bench trial with Lewis County Superior Court Judge J. Andrew Toynbee on Jan. 8. The next day, Toynbee found Kaufman guilty of one count of second-degree assault of a child.
The state recommended that Kaufman be sentenced to 48 months in prison, while the defense asked for a sentence of 12 months and one day.
Toynbee opted to sentence Kaufman to 42 months. In addition to his prison sentence, Kaufman is required to undergo a domestic violence evaluation and complete all recommended treatment.
A 10-year no-contact order protecting the victim is in place.
