Area photographer faces assault charges

A Lewes photographer faces charges after police say he assaulted a woman, biting her face in one incident.

Kyle Kaminski, 31, was charged Feb. 2 with two counts of third-degree assault and offensive touching in connection with two incidents in 2020 – one on July 10 and the other Nov. 8.

The woman first contacted Lewes police Dec. 19, 2020, when she detailed their two-year abusive relationship. She told Lewes police about numerous assaults in which Kaminski assaulted her and threatened to kill himself, according to court documents at the Sussex County Court of Common Pleas. The assaults happened at the Outer Banks in North Carolina, his home in Milton, and her home in Lewes, prompting her to set up video cameras at her home to capture further attacks, records state.

Following the woman's Dec. 19 report, records state, Lewes police applied for an arrest warrant for Kaminski in connection with an incident on Savannah Road. The warrant for unlawful imprisonment and strangulation, however, was denied for lack of evidence by a magistrate in Justice of the Peace Court 7 in Dover.

The case was then transferred to Delaware State Police for incidents that happened in Milton and Lewes.

In an incident that took place July 10, court records state, the woman went to Kaminski's home to take care of business related to New Wave Imagery, a photography studio the two co-owned. The woman entered the garage where, court records state, Kaminski repetitively slapped her in the face with an open hand, calling them love taps.

“He subsequently grabs her by the arms and throws her into the overhead garage door which was closed at the time,” records state. “He places his hand inside her mouth and uses his fingers to [fish hook] her cheek.”

The woman said she did not fight back but asked him to stop because his actions caused her pain and alarm, records state. The woman told police that she recorded the attack, but the phone fell on the floor and Kaminski erased the recording. She said she later went into the deleted folder and restored the recording.

In reviewing the video, police said the two are heard arguing along with crying and other commotion. “Noises consistent with slaps and hits can be heard,” court records state.

According to court records, after the cellphone fell to the floor, Kaminski found it recording, and he tells the woman sorry before he turns the video off.

In the second incident Nov. 8, records state, Kaminski went to the woman's home unannounced, and she let him in because he promised he wasn't going to harm her.

“He tried kissing and hugging her in the bedroom, but moved to the living room because she felt cornered and anxious from the previous attacks in her master bedroom,” records state.

However, when they went to the living room, records state, the woman saw something change in Kaminski's face.

“He came running toward her, she fell back on the couch, and he jumped on top of her and bit her face/nose very hard,” records state.

In a video reviewed by police, Kaminski screams a profanity and says, “Why am I like this?” before the two fell to the floor. The woman was able to flee to her bedroom where she locked the door, records state, but Kaminski was able to break in. He entered a bathroom where he threatened to kill himself, records state, but the woman was able to calm him down and the incident was done.

The woman photographed the injuries to her nose and face. “The incident scared her so bad, she thought he was capable of killing her,” records state.

Kaminski was released on $1,000 secured bail pending an appearance in Sussex County Court of Common Pleas on Aug. 9. Police said the woman has an active protection from abuse order against Kaminski.