Toddler assault suspect to police: she hit me first

A Snohomish County man was arrested Wednesday for hitting a 2-year-old girl with a fly swatter.

His claim to police after the girl was crying: she hit me first.

Court documents show the suspect, Frank Wayne Moore, is also a felon and registered sex offender.

Deputies were called to a section of 25^th Avenue Northeast near McCarthy Boulevard, part of unincorporated Marysville, shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday. A man who lives in a motorhome on the property called 911.

The girl's father, who was at the house, told police the toddler was hit "really hard" and he heard the swat from across the room.

Moore is a sex offender for communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. He remains in the Snohomish County Jail on $10,000 bail.

KIRO