A 17-year-old is facing child cruelty charges after he reportedly beat his 11-year-old sister with a belt. The teen, identified as Stanley Jamar Lomax Jr, is currently spending his second week in jail in Augusta, Georgia, after being arrested on October 5.
He was taken into custody on the heels of babysitting his eight siblings, which was when the incident happened. According to investigators, Lomax Jr’s father called the police on September 26, informing authorities that his son had gone too far while disciplining his younger sister. According to the father, the teen was left in charge while their mother was out. In response, deputies from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office went to the family’s home on Thomas Lane to investigate the situation.
The deputies initially heard from several of the teen’s siblings that he punched the victim and even brutally stomped on her head. However, when officers reviewed video evidence, they saw the 17-year-old repeatedly striking his sister with a belt. The 11-year-old was screaming and crying, pleading with him to stop hitting her, with her hands raised to protect herself. The disturbing scene left little doubt about the level of force used.
Deputies questioned Lomax Jr about his actions, and he admitted he “whooped her”. He described his sister’s behaviour as disobedient when explaining his reason for hitting her. He insisted, however, that he did not “intentionally beat his sister”.
According to the report, he told deputies the belt landed “everywhere” because his sister was moving around during the whooping. Initially, law enforcement did not arrest him, citing a lack of sufficient evidence at the time. Officers did, however, notify the Department of Family and Children Services, which would look into the matter further.
An additional report from Lomax Jr’s father revealed that this was not the first time such an incident had occurred. He said the same little girl had complained about similar abuse five or six times in the past. The father said he refrained from reporting this to the police because there was never any video proof.
After Stanley Jamar Lomax Jr was arrested, he was booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center without bond on charges of first-degree cruelty to children.