Man pleads guilty to malicious punishment, forgery charges

By MIA SIMPSON/mia.simpson@austindailyherald.com
The Austin man police learned was an illegal immigrant during an investigation of alleged child abuse pleaded guilty yesterday to an amended forgery charge and malicious punishment of a child.

The 29-year-old man, who also had an alias, originally faced a felony forgery charge after he disclosed his illegal status to police May 5, 2006 while in custody for hitting his girlfriend’s son twice with a belt.

According to the complaint, the child spoke to his teacher — who had noticed him limping — about the suspect, saying he had struck him twice in the leg with the belt over the weekend of April 29 and April 30. He was allegedly upset that the boy hadn’t correctly completed a prior punishment, in which he was to write down a set of rules repeatedly.

The child’s bruises were photographed, and he was placed under 72-hour hold after Mower County Human Services and two detectives went to the boy’s Austin home to speak to his mother, who said she was aware of the incident and had received an apology from the suspect.

The next day, the man was arrested and taken to the Mower County Jail, where he produced a Minnesota driver’s license with another name. When asked for documentation confirming his legal status, the man admitted he was illegal.

His sentencing is scheduled Dec. 13.

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