43°
Kevyn Garcia, 24, of Liberty St., was charged with one count each of first-degree assault and second-degree assault and two counts of risk of injury to a child. Garcia, who is related to the victim, was arrested Wednesday, police said.
A concerned teacher noticed the burn mark on the boy's cheek on Sept. 16, police said, and school officials immediately called the Department of Children and Family. The department notified police it would be investigating the following day, and police also went to the school on Sept. 17.
The boy was examined by a school nurse and originally said he had fallen, Stamford police Youth Bureau Sgt. Joseph Kennedy said. But the bruising the boy suffered was not consistent with a fall, police said, and the boy eventually told police of the attacks.
He said he had been beaten with a belt all over his body because the man was angry about noise he and his friends made at the birthday party, police said. A couple of days later, he said the man touched him with the lit lighter because he wasn't waking up, police said.
The boy was taken from the home by DCF officials, and he was examined at the Yale School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics on Sept. 23.
In the meantime, Garcia had been arrested on unrelated charges and was being held in custody. City police formally arrested him Wednesday after he was taken in for his court appearance.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.
