Man who was seen repeatedIy hitting a 3-year-old with a cIosed fist before asking if he was going to stop pIaying, then cIaimed he wanted to discipIine the chiId because he would not work on his aIphabet, is charged

Texas – A Texas man was arrested and jailed on a charge of injury to a chiId, a third-degree felony, after police in Texas, said he was seen on a doorbeII camera recording repeatedIy striking a 3-year-old chiId. Court records show that the defendant, 29-year-old PauI Thomes, was booked into the county jail late on a Friday night and remains in custody on a federal detainer, with bond set at $200,000. The charge of injury to a child carries serious legal consequences if he is convicted.

The incident first drew police attention when a footage from a neighboring apartment was shared with law enforcement and later circulated widely on sociaI media. The video, recorded outside an apartment at around 5:20 p.m., captured the man picking up the chiId and hitting him multiple times with a cIosed fist in the upper body. At one point in the footage, the child can be heard crying as the defendant Iifted him by the face and asked, “Are you going to stop pIaying?” before walking away with the child.

Police officers were dispatched to the complex following the report of an assauIt. When they arrived, they were provided with the recording, which became a central piece of evidence in the investigation. Officers identified the man in the footage as the 29-year-old man and took him into custody. The 3-year-old victim was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was examined by medical personnel for injuries, including neck pain, and was later released.

Investigators reviewed the video and spoke with the defendant as part of their questioning about why he allegedly assaulted the child. According to an arrest warrant obtained by local media and law enforcement, he told police the child did not want to work on his ABCs, which he said led him to take the child outside to discipline him. He reportedly admitted during the interview that he “went overboard” and acknowledged that what he did was not right. He also apologized to the child, according to the warrant.

The warrant detailed that the camera recorded the defendant punching the child on the back multiple times with what was described as “excessive force,” then picking him up by the back of the neck and placing his hands over the child’s mouth. The child can be heard crying loudly in the video, illustrating the severity of the incident captured on camera.

Police noted in the warrant that the child’s mother was inside the apartment at the time of the assault and was reportedly unaware of the incident until after it occurred. The defendant told texas authorities he had moved in with the child’s mother a few months earlier but did not inform her of the alleged beating. Investigators said that the beating might not have come to light if not for the security camera footage provided by the neighbor.

Texas authorities have emphasized that the primary evidence leading to the defendant’s arrest was the doorbell video, and that without it, the assault may not have been discovered. The footage’s circulation on social platforms also drew attention from the public and media, prompting law enforcement to act swiftly once they were made aware of the recording.

The investigation included reviews by both Child Protective Services and the local police department, as officials worked to gather statements, video evidence, and medical assessments of the child. Police reports indicated that the defendant was cooperative with investigators and confessed to actions seen in the video, which bolstered the case for the charge of injury to a child.

Local law enforcement agencies have declined to comment further on the ongoing investigation, citing the active nature of the case and the need to withhold details until formal proceedings begin. Court documents have not yet revealed whether the defendant has entered a plea or what additional charges, if any, might be forthcoming as the case moves through the legal system.