Police: Man beat child, 10, then sent him to panhandle

A Seattle man is behind bars after allegations that he severely beat a 10-year-old boy, then sent him to panhandle at Seattle Center.

Filing assault charges earlier this month, King County prosecutors contend Vincent James Pierce routinely beat his girlfriend’s young son and daughter, then denied them medical care when they suffered serious injuries.

On one occasion, prosecutors contend Pierce, 25, broke the boy’s wrist for stealing food. The girl, 5, was described by police as "grossly" dehydrated and underweight.

Charged with three counts of assaulting a child, Pierce is alleged to have repeatedly beaten both children in recent weeks.

On Nov. 30, a nurse at the University of Washington Medical Center contacted authorities after examining Pierce’s girlfriend’s children. According to charging documents, the girl’s face was bruised and puffy, and the boy’s eye was bruised.

Four days later, Pierce called the police to report the 10-year-old boy had disappeared while playing in downtown Seattle. According to charging documents, he called back six hours later to say the boy had returned; unconvinced, officers went to the home to check on the boy and found he was still gone.

The search for the boy continued for another two hours, when, at 4:30 p.m., the child returned to the Belltown apartment.

Reviewing surveillance video taken at the apartment, detectives saw Pierce speaking with the boy before leaving the lobby at 9:30 a.m. The boy remained outside for the rest of the cold December day, dressed only in sweatpants and two long-sleeve T-shirts.

“(The boy) informed officers that Pierce sent him to the Space Needle to panhandle, and (he) had not returned because he did not gather enough money,” a Seattle detective told the court, adding that the boy had not eaten all day.

Investigators later learned that Pierce had beaten the boy three weeks earlier for stealing food, the detective continued.

At Swedish Medical Center last week, doctors found the boy had an untreated broken wrist and rib, according to charging documents. They also found what appeared to be cigarette burns on his feet.

The girl, it turned out, had two black eyes, as well as bruises to her forehead and marks on her back caused by a belt, according to court documents. She was described as “grossly dehydrated and underweight.”

Speaking with police, the children’s mother said Pierce frequently beat her children.

“(She) stated that Pierce will hit the kids with the belt well over 30 times, sometimes lasting over an hour,” the Seattle detective told the court. “(She) also indicated that Pierce has used his hands to slap the (children) across the face. …

“(She) stated that this is a common practice, and (she) has lost track as to how many times he has abused the kids.”

Pressed, the woman began to cry and admitted she knew her son’s wrist was broken but did not take him to a doctor because Pierce told her not to, the detective continued. She allegedly said Pierce bent her son’s fingers back until his wrist broke after the boy was caught taking food.

According to charging papers, Pierce also whipped the boy with a power cord until he bled; the boy still has scars from the incident. The girl also reported repeated abuse at Pierce’s hands.

Writing the court, the Seattle detective asserted Pierce also forced the children to sleep outside the tent where he slept when the family had no home. He is also alleged to have routinely sat on the children.

Booked into King County Jail on Dec. 5, Pierce remains jailed on $300,000 bail. He has been charged with one count of second-degree assault of a child, as well as two counts of the same charge in the third degree.

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Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.