A Florida man had found himself behind bars after allegedly cutting his 2-year-old cousin in the groin while babysitting him in what officials said was an attempt to “circumcise” the boy, according to the Holly Hill Police Department.
Timothoes Powell was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse after the incident that unfolded in Daytona Beach on Oct. 17, according to a police report.
Powell was watching his 2-year-old cousin while the toddler’s mother was at work. Their grandmother and grandfather were home at the time of the incident, but were both asleep at the time, according to police.
At around 7 p.m., Powell called the mother to tell her that the boy was “bleeding from his penis area as glass had entered his diaper,” the report said. Powell added that he tried to wipe it off, causing the skin to break.
The boy was taken to a local hospital where he had to have his skin glued to repair the injury, the report said. The hospital reported the incident to police because they “feared some type of abuse was happening at the residence,” according to the report.
The home had surveillance cameras inside, which showed Powell changing the boy’s diaper and then walking away with an unknown object in his hand, police said. The baby was seen screaming and crying before Powell returned to the put the diaper on.
Another video showed Powell apparently “frustrated” as he manipulated the boy’s diaper, the report said. Other footage from the day allegedly showed Powell yelling at the toddler, squirting him with a water bottle and threatening to put soap in his mouth if he wasn’t quiet.
Police spoke to Powell ahead of his arrest, who said he noticed the boy was bleeding when he went to change his diaper.
“There must have been a piece of glass in his diaper,” Powell told police, according to the report. He added that he became frustrated and started to lose his temper.
Powell also said “he may have pulled (the boy’s) penis downward with too much force” and began “to wipe him very hard,” the report said, adding that Powell said he “did not intentionally cut” him.
During the investigation, a consultation with an advanced practice nurse from the Child Protection Team (CPT) confirmed child abuse, police said.
While the surveillance videos from inside the home did not show “any blatant abuse,” the advanced practice nurse said the laceration on the boy’s groin area was “much too clean and precise to be accidental in any way,” the report said. She got a second opinion, which confirmed that the wound was too precise for a skin tear and was done with intent.
Furthermore, the nurse said the injury had to have been inflicted by someone, “as if they may have tried to circumcise” him, the report said.
The Child Protection Team determined that Powell’s statements were not consistent with the boy’s injuries.
Powell remains at the Volusia County Branch Jail on $100,000 bond.
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