SLIDELL, La. (WGNO) — A Slidell man was sentenced to multiple years in prison for beating a then 7-year-old boy in September 2022.
District Attorney Warren Montgomery said a St. Tammany Parish jury found Christopher James Garretson guilty of cruelty to a child on May 18.
In an interview with police, Garretson said he woke up and found the victim playing with coffee creamer. He said the child started “lying” to him and “talking back,” so he “popped him in the mouth.” He then said he “whooped his butt” with a belt.
Garretson also said in the interview that when family members arrived back to the house, they saw the victim’s condition and beat Garretson in retaliation.
The family members then took the child for medical treatment. Montgomery said the victim suffered bruises on his forehead and leg. He also suffered a busted lip and bruising so severe on his face that it caused bruising on the inside of his mouth.
“When Christopher Garretson beat his seven-year-old child repeatedly and with enough force to leave visible bruising to the child’s entire face, that is not discipline. That is cruelty,” Assistant District Attorney Christina Fisher told the jury.
On July 24, Montgomery reported that District Judge Scott Gardner sentenced Garretson to 18 years in prison.
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