Trial begins for Las Cruces man accused of slapping daughter

The trial began Monday for a Las Cruces man facing child abuse charges in connection with slapping his daughter.

“The defendant used excessive force to discipline his six-year-old child,” said prosecutor Daniel Sewell.

“This is a case about parental rights,” said Jeff Lahann, the defense attorney. “This is a case about the right of any parent to discipline their own child, to make their own decisions as they see fit to discipline and correct their own child’s ill behavior.”

Juan Gutierrez was arrested in June 2017 after police say he struck his daughter, who at the time was six years old.

Las Cruces police say the girl was speaking with her step-mother when she learned she wouldn’t be taking a family vacation with them.

According to court records, Gutierrez said he didn’t like his daughter’s response, so he slapped her hard enough to leave her face red and swollen, with a noticeable hand print.

“The defendant felt that (she) was being disrespectful, so he grabbed her chin with one hand and slapped her cheek on her face with the other hand,” Sewell said, adding “He slapped her at least twice.”

“There was no treatment for a neck injury,” Lahann said. “There was no brace, there was no physical therapy, there was no special medication.”

ABC-7 will not release the name of the child accuser to protect her identity.

The trial is expect to last two days in the Third Judicial District Court.