A Florida mother’s split-second decision to follow her instincts and check her home cameras likely saved her 5-year-old son from further harm on Wednesday when the footage showed her 32-year-old boyfriend, Shawn Stone, allegedly beating the child as a punishment for wetting his bed.
The child was observed in a fetal position in his bed, begging to stop and pleading for mercy. But Stone wasn’t relenting, allegedly, and he grabbed a mop and hit him with it until the footage stopped.
Upon the police’s arrival at the Deland home, the young boy suffered multiple worrisome injuries: a fractured skull, lacerated lip, bruising on the head, eyes, and face, and a bruise in the shape of a mop handle on the left thigh. Stone attempted to explain away the situation, claiming he had only slapped the 5-year-old’s mouth, but had not assaulted him with the mop. He admitted his “anger got the best of him.”
The woman detailed her boyfriend’s history of drug use, which included a reported past use of methamphetamine. Stone was consequently booked in Volusia County Jail and prosecuted with the offense of aggravated child abuse and a first-degree felony. His long criminal record, which included burglary, armed burglary, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, was also brought to light.