Stranger Slaps Toddler to “Shut her up!”
In a Walmart in the suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, a man walked up to Sonya Mathews, whose 2-year-old daughter was crying in the store. He uttered those classic words:
If you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.
A couple aisles over, he made “good” on his word and slapped Ms. Mathews’ daughter 4 or 5 times, following the abuse with a smug,
See, I told you I would shut her up.
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A bystander, presumably with way more sense than this guy, restrained him until Walmart security came to help. They called the police.
Roger Stephens, 61, was charged with felony cruelty to children. The little girl, though presumably traumatized for the moment (and perhaps will now suffer from a fear of Walmarts and old guys?) suffered only redness to the face.
To the rest of us, he can now be dubbed, “The most evil ornery old man in America.”
Officials say there was no video of the incident on the store cameras.
Find the story: Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Image: Gwinnett County (GA) Sheriff’s Office.
he better be glad i am not that childs mother ,the cops couldnt have gotten there fast enough and God forbid my husband was present
Jan, I completely agree. I’m pretty sure I would have gone ballistic. And if my husband had been there, he’d be dead!
How in God’s name did he get 4 or 5 slaps in before the Mother castrated him on the spot? If that was my baby they would have had to call the police for HIS protection! This guy should be doing his shopping online.
While I do not advocate what the man did - I’m glad it has sparked debate. What everyone is forgetting is WHERE WAS THE MOTHER?
He said: “If you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.” Mom did nothing! Didn’t report the man, making me think this happens to her all the time and she ignores it. Didn’t remove the kid from a potentially dangerous situation. Didn’t ensure the wacko didn’t get near her kid.
MOMENTS later and ‘A couple aisles over’, he made “good” on his word - getting in four slaps…
Where was MOM? How did he get close enough, how did he have time to slap her 4 times?
When I was a kid going to the store was a privilege, if we misbehaved we left IMMEDIATELY! I know that’s inconvenient for today’s modern parents but it works and it works fast!
Um . . . since when is a crying 2-year-old “misbehaving?” I would guess this poor child was probably hungry, tired, etc. And while the child maybe should have been taken home, at the same time, that’s not always practical. We don’t know ANYTHING about the mom, so I really don’t think it’s fair to start bashing her at this point. Maybe she was there buying medicine for her child, and it wasn’t something she felt could wait until later. We don’t know.
As for why the man was allowed to get 4 or 5 slaps in, I’m sure the mom was in shock. I know I would be. Even if he did previously threaten her, it’s such a completely LUDICROUS thing to do, I doubt she took him seriously. At least not seriously enough to call security. She did seem to have at least walked away from him, since the slapping took place a few aisles over from where he threatened her.
I will say, though, this makes a good case for using a sling. While it’s certainly possible for the same thing to happen if the child was in a sling, it wouldn’t have been as easy, and the mother could have better protected her child.
[...] September 3, 2009 Let’s just do this one really quickly, shall we? So, many of you will have read about the case in which a man repeatedly slapped a toddler in a Walmart store in the US because her behaviour did not please him. Yes, repeated criminal physical assault on a child. Do you know whose fault it was? Well, check out a comment here . [...]
[...] This is exactly the kind of comment I am talking about. While I do not advocate what the man did – I’m glad it has sparked debate. What everyone is forgetting is WHERE WAS THE MOTHER? He said: “If you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.” Mom did nothing! Didn’t report the man, making me think this happens to her all the time and she ignores it. Didn’t remove the kid from a potentially dangerous situation. Didn’t ensure the wacko didn’t get near her kid. MOMENTS later and ‘A couple aisles over’, he made “good” on his word – getting in four slaps… Where was MOM? How did he get close enough, how did he have time to slap her 4 times? When I was a kid going to the store was a privilege, if we misbehaved we left IMMEDIATELY! I know that’s inconvenient for today’s modern parents but it works and it works fast! [...]
I am really sad to see that it is assumed that a 2 year old is misbehaving if they are not being quiet. I am also amazed that it is assumed that a mother whose child is not quiet has done “nothing”.
This child was two years old. This man was in his 60’s. How is it ok for this man to not be able to control himself but not ok for a two year old?
Whether or not the child deserved to be disciplined, it isn’t a stranger’s place to be doing the disciplining. And a grown man slapping a toddler in the face 5 times is excessive even if it is done by the child’s own father.
That is HORRIBLE! I hope they throw more than just the book at him!
I would NEVER lay a hand on my own children, never even spanked them, and to have some stranger lay a hand on my child… mother bear mode would be kicking in…