A 25-year-old man has been charged with child abuse following an incident that took place at a St. George park days earlier when a child was allegedly struck on the head by a stranger who then fled from police.
Multiple witnesses called 911 and reported seeing a man punch a 7-year-old boy in the head, according to charging documents filed with the court.
Officers arrived and spoke to multiple bystanders who all provided a similar account of seeing the boy struck in the head by a man wearing blue jeans and a black backpack who reportedly rode away from the park on a green bicycle immediately after the alleged attack.
Officers also spoke to several children who were playing with the boy when the assault reportedly occurred. According to the report, the children said the suspect was spinning the children around, but when the boy asked the suspect to stop, the man pinned the child to the ground, pushed his hands against the boy’s neck and squeezed a pressure point causing him pain.
The man was identified as 25-year-old Daniel Harley Simmons of St. George. Simmons was transported to St. George Regional Hospital for evaluation and treatment following his 20-foot drop from the parking structure.
At the hospital, Simmons reportedly told officers he was not willing to provide a statement without an attorney present, at which point all questioning ceased. Later, the officer wrote, the suspect made “an excited utterance,” and stated the “little kid” yelled a profanity at him, which is when he went up to the child and spun him around and then “put him down.”
Police say he changed his story later and said the child ran up to him and punched him and then he was pushed and he fell into the child.
Officers also spoke to the child’s parents at the park who reported they wanted charges filed against the suspect for the alleged assault on their child, the report states.
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