CLEARFIELD – A Curwensville man accused of assault in two cases involving a child was sentenced Tuesday.
Mark Allen Juart, 34, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor strangulation and assault in the first case and felony endangering the welfare of a child, and two misdemeanor counts of simple assault in the second case.
Judge Paul Cherry sentenced him to a total of 12 months less two days to two years less two days in the county jail along with five years consecutive probation. He was also ordered to complete a nurturing program.
According to the affidavit in the first case, on Aug. 18 police responded to a report that Juart and a woman were involved in a fight.
The victim said he punched her, scratched her and put both his hands around her throat, choking her.
The victim also reported that Juart had also hit a 10-year-old child in the face causing her eye to swell and be black and blue.
A witness reported that she was out jogging when she heard shrieking screams from a home down the street. The noise became louder and then she heard kids screaming and crying along with a woman.
This witness pounded on the door of the home without a response. She then just walked into the house where she told a man she saw there to stop what he was doing. The man said he was leaving.
She said the woman was very upset and crying along with two children. The woman told the witness the man, identified as Juart, had back handed the girl, causing a black eye.
Police said in the complaint that the victim had obvious marks on her neck and bruises on both arms. The child had a contusion on her left eye.
The first victim told investigators Juart had post traumatic stress disorder and was using cocaine.
She explained he had been fighting and hitting her for about a week for things such as not having the house clean or making him coffee.
When he went after the child and she tried to stop him, he grabbed the victim by the throat, punched her in the head and then kicked her in the back while he was wearing boots.
According to that affidavit in the second case, when the child was interviewed on Aug. 25, she said Juart did punch her in the face with a closed fist. He was wearing gloves with a hard plastic top with a softer material on the bottom. The punch caused swelling, bleeding in the whites of her eyes and severe pain.
She described the pain as a “20” on the pain scale of one to 10.
She also stated he held her mouth and nose when he punched her, to keep her from screaming. During this time, she said she was unable to breathe.
