Not Guilty Plea In Child Assault Girl Thrown Into Bathtub ‘Stable’ And Running Normally

A Spokane man accused of throwing a 3-year-old girl into a bathtub pleaded not guilty Tuesday to first-degree assault of a child.

Lance Brandvold, 38, was arrested nearly two weeks ago after investigators say he threw Amanda Welch into a bathtub in a fit of anger.

Brandvold had been living with the child’s mother, Judy Sorenson, in a home in the Spokane Valley.

The afternoon of June 2, police say Brandvold was caring for Amanda while Sorenson was at work. Angry that the child became sick and vomited while he was bathing her, Brandvold tossed the girl into the tub, investigators say.

The child is no longer in a coma, and is recovering at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute.

Amanda’s condition at St. Luke’s is “stable,” said a hospital spokesperson Tuesday.

The child has regained bodily movement and can run normally again, said Nancy Cowles, Sorenson’s sister.

Cowles, with Sorenson’s help, formally became the child’s legal guardian after the injuries occurred. Whether the child suffered long-term injuries still can’t be determined, Cowles said.

Cowles and her husband are asking residents to donate a high chair, money for medical care, children’s clothes and furniture to help them care for Amanda.

Donations can be made though Spokane County’s emergency management department or through the sheriff’s office chaplain, at 456-6625.

Brandvold remains in the Spokane County Jail on a $250,000 cash bond. A trial has been scheduled for August.

, DataTimes