Sean Berger

An Adams Township man is accused of striking his infant daughter on her leg, leaving a mark last week at his home on Sunny Hill Drive.

Township police arrested Sean M. Berger, 30, for felony assault following the incident about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

Berger's ex-girlfriend and the mother of the 1-year-old child told police that Berger was playing a video game when he allegedly hit the girl apparently as a form of discipline, according to charging documents.

The infant had redness on her left leg, and the alleged assault left her in pain, police said.

The girl's mother said Berger also struck the infant on the buttocks April 28. She provided police with pictures, documents said, that showed petechiae and “what appeared to finger marks from a hand strike.”

Berger told officers that he tried to spank the infant Saturday to discipline her but she turned away, police said, causing him to hit her left leg. He also allegedly admitted to previously striking the child.

“He stated that if he abused his daughter, he did not mean to,” documents said.

District Judge Bill O'Donnell arraigned Berger on felony charges of aggravated assault and child endangerment. He is free on $20,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is May 12. Online court records did not indicate if he has an attorney and he could not be reached for comment.