The 33-year-old father allegedly severely beat his 9-year-old son after the boy and his younger brother reportedly mad a variety of app purchases on an iPad earlier this month. The 33-year-old dad was taken into custody following an investigation involving the Florida Department of Children and Families Child Protection Team, the Sheriff’s Office stated in a Facebook release.
The 33-year-old man from Florida, Andrew Atkerson, was arrested and taken into custody on Tuesday. He is now charged with child abuse without great bodily harm following the beating that took place on Feb. 3.
The 33-year-old dad was taken into custody following an investigation involving the Florida Department of Children and Families Child Protection Team, the Sheriff’s Office stated in a Facebook release.
According to the statement, the 33-year-old father reportedly discovered that his 9 year old son, along with the boy’s younger brother, had made an in-application purchase on their iPad. An enraged Atkerson, is allegedly to have then pushed his son, picked him up multiple times and threw him into items inside the home including walls and closets.
Investigators said the young boy suffered bruising under both eyes, bruising on his left hip area, and bruising on his upper back right shoulder area, according to reports.
The next day, the child’s mother came across her son’s injuries upon picking him at school.
The 33-year-old man reportedly sent a text message to the mother and claimed that he didn’t touch the boy. But, he admitted that he “might have over-punished them a little bit.”
According to reports, the 9-year-old boy was interviewed by the Florida Child Protection Team, upon suspected of having been abused and the mother passing photos of the boy’s injuries to the agency.
Sheriff Rick Staly released the following statement:
‘No child should ever have to endure what this man did to his child. It appears this man has no ability to control his rage. Parents have the right to discipline their children but cannot go overboard, which happened in this case.
A more appropriate discipline would have been to restrict access to the iPad or make them do chores around the house to pay for the items they ordered, not beat their child. I’m thankful the mother reported her observations and the work our detectives and DCF have done on this case to protect the children. Child abuse victims often have to live with those scars forever.’
Back in 2017, the 33-year-old dad was arrested for felony domestic battery when he attacked his wife while his children watched. This incident remains under investigation. This is a developing story and it will be updated as new information become available.