A 45-year-old homeless man is accused of punching a teenaged girl in the face, breaking her nose and the bones around her eye.

Prosecutors charged Anthony Herrmann in Island County Superior Court with assault in the second degree. If convicted, he would face from three to nine months in jail under the standard sentencing range.

Herrmann pleaded not guilty Jan. 29.

Island County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Davison wrote that Herrmann had been living temporarily at the home of a North Whidbey woman. In the past, the homeless man commonly resided at a barn behind the home, but he had enrolled in a two-year alcohol rehabilitation program at a Seattle facility for veterans, the deputy wrote.

The incident occurred Dec. 7, 2006, when Herrmann was on leave from the facility for the holidays, court documents state.

Davison wrote that Herrmann attacked the woman’s 16-year-old granddaughter in the kitchen and punched her in the nose.

“I observed swelling under her left eye, a bloody nose, and her nose appeared to be displaced somewhat,” Davison wrote.

The woman told the deputy that Herrmann “lost his mind” because he was drinking malt liquor, court documents show.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.