A man from Georgia is facing charges after he physically abused a child, including body slamming him over an incident involving money, police said.
“Come get him, or I’m going to kill him” the accused man from Dekalb County reportedly texted a family member, according to a police report. He is now facing charges for making terrorist threats, WSB-TV reported.
DeKalb County police arrested and identified the man as Raphael Wright, a 26-year-old on charges of child cruelty, aggravated assault, and several other charges after he reportedly body-slammed an 8-year-old boy.
The incident occurred back in May this year when Wright first blamed the child for taking money from his pants for a school fundraiser.
The beatdown happened inside a home near North Redan Circle.
The mother of the 8-year-old boy told police the violent attack left her son so injured he had trouble going to the toilet.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” neighbor Mary Davidson said, “Cause I have seen children outside playing ... doing that is unimaginable.”
Wright is accused of unleashing a series of violent acts against the boy. Including choking the boy by the throat, slamming him onto the bathroom floor, and then whipping his bare body with a belt. The whips were so hard that the boy was left bruised and cut, damaging his private parts, officials told WSB-TV.
“We’ve never heard any noise or commotion. They were perfect neighbors,” Davidson said. “The children were always manageable and well-mannered.
The police report states that Wright allegedly told the boy he would never get tired of beating him.
“We’ve lived there for almost 20 years, so we’ve never had anything like that,” Davidson told WSB-TV.
“So when you told me that today, I was extremely shocked, saddened, and surprised,” she said.
Wright was arrested last Wednesday on Aug. 9, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. To keep the child’s identity secret, the relationship between the man and the child has not been revealed.
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