An Augusta grandma refused to return her adult son’s 5-year-old daughter Saturday after a trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s, telling authorities she was protecting her grandchild from abuse.
William Harold Smith, 33, of Lake Forest Drive, Augusta, was charged Saturday with cruelty to children in the first degree after an investigation into the woman’s claims that her adult son had beaten his older daughter the week before with a belt and coat hanger.
Oddly enough, it was Smith and his fiancée who called the cops when they went to pick up the younger daughter from a birthday party at the pizza place and couldn’t find them. Smith told deputies his mother, Judith Miller, called to say she wasn’t giving the 5 year old back because of his abuse.
Deputies convinced Miller to bring the child to Smith’s home. Miller told deputies that she wanted to protect the younger child from a beating since she discovered Smith had abused his older daughter the week before, according to a sheriff’s report.
“The mother stated that the victim was at her residence … last week and she observed severe bruising on the back side of the victim from her butt down to the middle of her calf,” a sheriff’s report says. “The mother stated that the victim told her that the suspect whipped her with a belt and a clothes hanger leaving the bruising on the rear of her legs.”
Smith admitted whipping the child with a belt for disciplinary reasons like “lying to him, not taking her medication, and getting bad grades in school.” He said he didn’t think it was severe and didn’t remember using a coat hangar.
DFACS officials were notified and the 11-year-old daughter was taken to GRU hospital for an evaluation where two doctors agreed the bruising was excessive and consistent with being hit with a belt and clothes hanger.