According to the San Antonio Express-News, a man turned in the mother of his child for physically abusing their 10-year-old in San Antonio on Sunday.
Text Messages Show Mother Admitting to Abuse
The man went to pick up his child from the mother’s house at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening. The child held the left side of his or her face when the father noticed the bruising.
The San Antonio Express-News reports that Silvana Delight Tatum, 35, allegedly struck her child with a dustpan repeatedly in the face for refusing to clean the kitchen. The child also received beatings in parts of the body and on the hand.
Police placed Tatum under arrest for a state jail felony injury to a child causing bodily injury. If convicted, Tatum faces up to two years in prison, reports the San Antonio Express-News.
In addition, text messages sent between the father and Tatum reveal that she had slapped the child before, leaving a hand print on the 10-year-old’s body.
The child received treatment and an evaluation at Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Texas Child Abuse Statistics
According to the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas (CACTX),
- Today, 185 Texas children will be victims of abuse.
- In 2015, almost 40,000 children received critical services at a Texas children’s advocacy center.
- Of the total number of children served by a children’s advocacy center last year,
- 71% were involved in a sexual abuse case
- 95% knew their perpetrator
- 25% were not old enough to attend kindergarten
