A Licking man is facing felony charges after deputies say he grabbed and choked a five‑year‑old girl during a domestic incident Saturday afternoon.
According to the PCA from the Texas County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a home on Highway 63 around 12:44 p.m. on February 14. The reporting party told investigators that her boyfriend, Travin Pendergraft, woke her by yelling at her daughter, identified in reports as SW. She said she entered the bedroom and saw Pendergraft holding the child’s cheeks with both hands while telling her to “shut the [expletive] up” and get in bed.
Deputies noted red marks on the child’s cheeks, upper neck, and a distinct red mark in the center of her neck. The girl also told deputies her neck hurt from being choked.
Pendergraft admitted he grabbed the child’s face because she would not look at him while speaking and acknowledged he was upset. He denied intentionally choking her but said “things may have gone too far.”
Pendergraft has been charged with second‑degree assault and abuse or neglect of a child.
