A Huson man who allegedly beat his girlfriend with a Halloween scarecrow, reportedly because her blankets took up too much room on the bed, was charged Friday with partner assault.

Joseph Dean Bechen, 56, was arrested after a night that began with a bottle of wine shared with his girlfriend of seven years, according to an affidavit filed by Deputy Missoula County Attorney Jennifer Clark.

His girlfriend went to bed first. When Bechen followed, he got upset about the blankets, screaming and cursing at her and telling her to get out, according to the affidavit.

She started to leave, but stopped outside to retrieve some Halloween scarecrows made of bamboo that she'd bought earlier.

The woman told Missoula County sheriff's deputies that Bechen yelled at her not to take anything, then leapt from the porch on top of her, knocking her down, calling her unprintable names and hitting her repeatedly on the head, shoulders and ribs with the scarecrow poles.

At which point, according to the affidavit, the woman "grabbed (the) suspect's nuts." He backed off and she left.

The woman had scrapes and bruises on her face and the beginnings of bruises on her right leg, according to the affidavit.