Foster father arrested, charged with beating 4-year-old boy

Foster father arrested, charged with beating 4-year-old boy
BY ERIC CONNOR • STAFF WRITER • APRIL 6, 2010

Authorities have alleged that a preschooler has suffered brain damage after his foster father beat the 4-year-old because the Taylors man was having problems getting the boy to eat.

Jamille Anton Hardy, 41, was in jail Monday and charged with inflicting great bodily injury upon a child, according to an arrest warrant.

The boy was in critical condition at Greenville Memorial Hospital suffering from severe brain and bodily injuries, Greenville County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Armstrong said Monday.

The warrants alleges that a doctor told authorities that it was unclear how the brain injury would affect the child’s development.

Late Saturday evening, emergency workers arrived at Hardy’s home at 804 Center Road to find a 4-year-old boy unconscious, Armstrong said.

Hardy told authorities that he was having problems getting the boy to eat, so he “spanked him a few times,” Armstrong said.

Hardy told authorities that he pushed the boy to the ground when the boy tried to run away, Armstrong said.

When the boy was unresponsive, Hardy told authorities that he called the boy’s foster mother, who wasn’t at home when the incident occurred, Armstrong said.

“The foster mother, who works in the medical field, believed that the victim may have become unconscious from a pre-existing respiratory condition,” Armstrong said.

Medical personnel at the hospital found severe bruising across the boy’s body and evidence of a strong blow to his head, Armstrong said.

Investigators arrested Hardy, who wasn’t granted bond by a judge.

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