2-year-old boy, sibling tortured by mother’s boyfriend, NC sheriff says
A Salisbury man was arrested Friday on felony child abuse and other charges after “concerned individuals” noticed injuries on the face of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.
William Joseph Elliot Jr., 27, faces the charges for “torturing” the two young children of his girlfriend, 25-year-old Patricia Leigh Hall, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Deputies received a call Thursday from people who suspected child abuse after seeing the injuries to the 2-year-old boy’s face, the Sheriff’s Office said. Detectives who responded requested the child be taken to a hospital to be evaluated for his injuries, which were not life-threatening, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Both the toddler and his 9-year-old sibling were removed from the home until the Rowan County Department of Social Services and Sheriff’s Office’s investigation was complete.
The investigation found Elliot “had been abusing and torturing” the two children on a number of different occasions, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Elliot is being held under a $500,000 secured bond on charges of felony child abuse, misdemeanor child abuse and assault on a child under 12, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Hall faces charges for knowing about the abuse and failing to intervene or report it to DSS or law enforcement, the Sheriff’s Office said. She is under a $50,000 secured bond on several counts of misdemeanor child abuse and failing to report a crime against a juvenile, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 11:58 AM.
