While WSB contributing reporter Megan Sheppard was going through police reports for the (forthcoming) weekly “from the police files” roundup, she happened onto a report that led us to this disturbing case involving a West Seattle 8-year-old hospitalized after being beaten and jumped on. The suspect: His father, now in jail, charged with assault, bail set at $250,000. The attack happened in Renton but we can’t find evidence it’s been reported anywhere else. Details ahead:
44-year-old Otis Ray Jones is in the King County Jail right now, in lieu of a quarter-million dollars bail. He is charged with second-degree assault on a child (domestic violence).
According to court documents, police first got word of what happened when the 8-year-old victim’s mother, with whom he lives in West Seattle, called for help last Wednesday night. The boy told police he had gotten into trouble at his school (which is in West Seattle) and been sent to the principal’s office. His father picked him up and took him to his residence in Renton, making it clear along the way that he was upset with his son. After arrival, the boy told police:
His father took the two belts and started hitting him on the left side of his face. He then grabbed the iron and folded the cord in half so that it formed a loop. ‘He started hitting me with the cord on my arms, chest, back and legs. He hit me about fifteen times. He threw me to the ground and started jumping on my chest with both feet. He threw me across the room and walked out. He came back and started punching me in the ribs, neck, head and arm. My ‘breathing shut off.’ ‘My dad is like 300 lbs., and I couldn’t start my breathing with him on my chest.’ My stomach hurt the worst and it felt like all of the blood from my stomach had been pushed up.
The boy’s mother told police she didn’t realize what had happened when Jones dropped her son off, telling him, “Even though I had to spank you, I love you and want you to do good in school.” She soon noticed her son was “walking slow and breathing funny” and after going to his room to lie down, “called out in pain.” After she saw his wounds, she called 911 and Seattle Fire responded; the boy was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where doctors determined that along with external injuries, he was “suffering from a laceration to his liver,” according to the court document, which says Child Protective Services is investigating.
The court document says Jones called police the next afternoon, crying, saying he loved his son and didn’t mean to hurt him, and wanted to turn himself in to get help. The documents don’t say what happened after that, but the jail register shows Jones was not booked until yesterday afternoon; the charging papers say he has two prior drug-related convictions. His son’s condition isn’t known, but he was described as being still in the hospital when charges were filed last Friday.
| 24 COMMENTS