TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Tallahassee man is out on aggravated child abuse charges after police say he choked and assaulted a 2-year-old girl in his care.
According to court documents, Tallahassee Police responded to the 220 block of West Tharpe Street in regards to a child abuse investigation on Feb. 18.
When police arrived on the scene, they spoke to the child's mother who told them that she was at her home when she walked in on 23-year-old Kenneth Wilson squeezing her 2-year-old child's neck while the toddler was in the restroom.
The mother then yelled at Wilson to stop choking the child and asked him what was going on. Documents say Wilson claimed he was choking the toddler because she wasn't listening.
After the child's mother told Wilson that wasn't the proper way to discipline the child, he stopped choking the 2-year-old and threw her on a bed that was about two feet away.
That's when the child's mother noticed that the toddler bleeding from her mouth. At that point, the child's mother said she told Wilson he had to leave the home, grabbed the child and drove them both to the laundry mat.
Documents say responding officers noticed several small dots around the toddler's eye, small cuts on her lip and scratch on her ear, but said the child didn't appear to be "in need of medical services." The mother of the child also refused to have her treated by EMS.
Two days after the incident, the child was brought to the Children's Home Society for a medical examination, according to police.
During the medical exam, documents say spots from bleeding under the skin were found around the child's eyes along with possible bruising on her neck. After the medical exam, police went to search for Wilson.
Hours later they finally spoke with Wilson on the phone about the incident. Documents say Wilson admitted to throwing the child on the bed and busting her lip but denied that he had choked her.
Police say Wilson told them that he was frustrated with the child's screaming because she wouldn't calm down.
Wilson also told police that while the toddler was on the bed he was holding her head. He stated "I was unconscious of how I was holding her," and that he didn't think he was being that rough.
As the interview continued however, documents say Wilson admitted that a reasonable parent wouldn't have done that to the child and stated that he was being "very childish."
Based on the evidence, Wilson was arrested and transported to the Leon County Detention Facility on Friday. He is being charged with aggravated child abuse.
Wilson has since bonded out.
