A man accused of beating a 5-year-old boy so severely he fractured his skill has been arrested in Florida.
Shawn Stone, 32, attacked his girlfriend’s son for wetting the bed, according to Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. He has been charged with aggravated child abuse and is being held in the county jail without bail.
The incident took place on Tuesday at the couple’s home on Valley Forge Road near DeLand. Police were alerted around 8:30 a.m.
Mike Chitwood
When doctors examined the young boy, they found a fractured skull and several older injuries.
Stone attempted to evade police in an all-terrain vehicle but was spotted on Marsh Road and arrested on Tuesday.
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Andrew Gant told Newsweek: “Shawn Stone was spotted yesterday while deputies were actively searching for him, and he was taken into custody without incident.”
Sheriff Mike Chitwood shared an image of Stone being detained on Facebook.
Chitwood captioned the post: “I want to commend these deputies for making quick work of tracking down our Scumbag of the Week. This morning, Shawn M. Stone punched, kicked, and used a mop handle to beat a 5-year-old child who had an accident. The child was taken to the hospital for treatment and Shawn fled on a 4-wheeler.
“He was just taken into custody a short time ago and is headed to jail on a charge of aggravated child abuse.”
If found guilty of aggravated child abuse, a first-degree felony in Florida, the 32-year-old could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.
He told police that he had slapped the boy, but denied repeatedly striking him.
The arrest report states that the boy’s mother had left him at home with Stone while she went to a doctor’s appointment with her daughter, who has cerebral palsy.
While away from the house, she opened the home security camera app on her phone. In footage from the living room, she allegedly saw Stone standing over the child and repeatedly punching him in the head as he lay in the fetal position.
The mother also alleged that the boy was kicked by Stone as he attempted to get out of bed. She recalled hearing her child begging him to stop.
Stone is accused of grabbing a mop and striking the child with it. The force of the blows reportedly caused the head of the mop to break off. He has denied beating the boy with a mop.
The arrest report also stated that when the mother returned home and confronted Stone, he told her: “I f****** you and I f****** hate your child.”
Doctors at Advent Health DeLand had the boy transferred to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital in Orlando to treat the skull fracture. Medics told detectives that the child had fractured ribs that were healing, as well as fractures on his wrist joint.
A detective also noticed marks that appeared to be cigarette burns on the boy’s right shoulder blade, according to the arrest report.
In his police interview, Stone said he had intended to scare the 5-year-old with the threat of being hit, but denied causing serious injury. He admitted slapping the boy in the face with an open hand, claiming that “anger got the best of” him.
The 5-year-old is now in a stable condition in hospital and his injuries are not considered life-threatening.
