CLARION CO., Pa. (ETY) — A hearing for a Clarion man charged with hitting a five-year-old child with a belt, causing significant bruising, was continued on Tuesday.
Court documents indicate a preliminary hearing for 26-year-old Joseph Damian Shirey was continued on Tuesday, April 20, and is scheduled to resume at 1:30 p.m. on April 27.
He faces the following charges:
– Simple Assault, Misdemeanor 1
– Harassment — Subject Other to Physical Contact, Summary
He is currently lodged in the Clarion County Jail on $5,000.00 monetary bail.
The charges stem from an incident that allegedly took place in Clarion Borough in late March.
Details of the case:
According to a criminal complaint, around 10:27 p.m. on March 27, Clarion Borough Police received a call from Clarion County 9-1-1 advising that the Franklin Police Department wanted to reach them regarding a child abuse complaint.
Clarion Borough Police then contacted Franklin Police and were advised that a known Franklin woman reported her five-year-old grandchild had significant bruising on his body, allegedly from the child’s mother’s boyfriend hitting him with a belt, the complaint states.
The complaint notes that Clarion Borough Police were informed because the incident reportedly took place at a residence on 7th Avenue in Clarion Borough. Police were also notified that Venango County Children and Youth Services (CYS) were involved, and a ChildLine report was submitted by their department.
According to the complaint, the Franklin Police Department did not know the full name of the man who reportedly struck the child, only that he went by “Joe.”
Clarion Borough Police then received a call advising that Clarion County CYS was also involved after being contacted by Venango County CYS. The Clarion County CYS representative also advised police that she was made aware of several other children at the residence where the incident took place and had concerns for their safety.
Police then escorted a CYS representative to the residence in question, where they made contact with Joseph D. Shirey.
Shirey was made aware of the reason for the visit and called for the mother of the victim, who came down and let the officer and the CYS representative inside the residence, the complaint states.
The CYS representative then checked on the other children in the residence, and she stated that they appeared to be fine, the complaint notes.
According to the complaint, the victim’s mother told police she knew why they were there and said it was because Shirey hit the victim. The woman stated “it was for discipline” because the victim had broken a window in the residence and had drawn on a wall with nail polish. The complaint notes that police observed the nail polish on the wall.
On March 30, police received the child welfare report along with a photo of the injuries to the victim from Clarion County CYS which showed significant bruising to the right side buttock and hip area, which was red in color with some black and blue marks. The marks did appear to be consistent with being caused by a belt, according to the complaint.
The victim also reported that Shirey had struck him with a belt for “being bad,” the complaint states.
Shirey was also interviewed on March 30. He stated he did not know exactly when the incident occurred but believed it was sometime in the prior week. He told police he was babysitting his girlfriend’s three children while she was at work when the victim broke a bedroom window for the third time, the complaint indicates.
According to the complaint, after the victim broke the window, Shirey called the victim’s mother to ask what he should do. He told police she told him to “smack his butt,” so he then smacked the victim’s on the bare buttocks three times with a belt. He noted that during the third smack, the victim stood up, and the belt caught him on the right hip. He also stated he did not smack the victim “that hard” and did not think he hurt him. Shirey stated that after smacking the victim, he asked him why he keeps breaking the bedroom window, and the victim said that he wants to go live with his grandmother.
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