Man abused kids with hot sauce, BB gun, and smothered them with a pillow, SC cops say
A couple faces felony child abuse charges after police say the man smothered the children with a pillow, shot one of the children with a BB gun, and used hot sauce to punish the children — and the mom didn’t stop him, according to Greenville, South Carolina police.
The mother, Sabrina Irene Emerick, 25, and her live-in boyfriend, 37-year-old Robert Earl Kailiala Saladaga, are out on bond after police charged them with child neglect and two counts of cruelty to children, the department said in a press release. Saladaga is also charged with assault and battery of a high and agravated nature.
The abuse of the children, now 5 and 7, dates back to September 2017, police say. Among the allegations are that “Saladaga would hold a pillow over one of the children’s face causing the minor to be unable to breathe. The child was 5-years-old at the time,” the department said.
Other allegations of abuse from Saladaga include:
- “Rubbing a hot pepper on a child’s penis as punishment for urinating on the couch while sleeping.”
- Rubbing hot sauce “all over the victim’s face, eyes, and mouth causing him to vomit.”
- Punishing the child “by hitting him all over his body, making the child take hot and cold showers.”
- “Shooting the victim in the foot with a BB gun.”
Police said the mother “was aware of the ongoing abuse and allowed her children to be placed at (an) unreasonable risk of harm ... at the hands of Saladaga.”
“Heinous crimes against children are some of the most difficult cases we investigate,” Greenville Police Lt. Jason Rampey said in the press release. “The children have been removed from this abusive environment for their safety and well-being.”
The Saladaga and Emerick posted bond — $25,000 and $15,000, respectively — and were released Feb. 15, police said. Saladaga is not allowed to have contact with the children and must wear an ankle monitor, police said.
