State College Man Found Guilty of Assault, Endangering Child

A State College man charged with assaulting his girlfriend while she was holding their 10-month-old son was found guilty this week.

A Centre County jury found Zhi Fei Liao, 44, guilty on misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault stemming from an incident on April 18, 2015.

While the victim was doing laundry, their infant son began to cry and Liao allegedly yelled at the child. His girlfriend retrieved the baby and told Liao, ‘He’s your son, too, you know,’ at which point prosecutors said Liao punched her in the face while she was holding the child.

The girlfriend said she placed the child on a bed before Liao knocked her to the ground and struck her in the head, arms and back while repeatedly threatening to kill her. The child fell to the floor while the assault occurred and the victim picked him up and cried for help from a window.

Witnesses who heard the girlfriend knocked on the apartment door and took the woman and child with them until State College Police arrived. The victim sustained a contusion on her left cheek and redness and scrapes on other areas of her body. The child did not sustain injuries.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 28.

“Domestic violence is unacceptable and involving a minor child is even more reprehensible,’ Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller said in a release.