Crime & Safety
Pasco Deputy Accused In Child's 'Violent and Severe' Beating
The Pasco County corrections deputy is accused of putting hand soap in a 7-year-old girl's mouth and then striking and choking her.
NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of one of its own after an investigation into a Sunday incident turned up evidence of a “violent and severe beating.” The sheriff’s office announced the arrest of corrections Deputy Ryan Robert Ferguson, 29, Friday morning, on a child abuse charge.
The sheriff’s office began investigating Ferguson following the alleged March 13 incident. The 7-year-old female victim told investigators that Ferguson put liquid hand soap in her mouth for lying, an arrest report stated. Following the soap, the girl told investigators Ferguson threw her onto a couch, slapped her buttocks repeatedly and then picked her up and dropped her onto a tile floor, the report said.
Once on the floor, Ferguson is accused of continuing the beating by striking the child on both sides of the face with both open and closed hands. The girl also said she was choked and had difficulty breathing.
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The report noted the girl had redness on her face, neck, forehead and lower back on Monday. A medical exam indicated the girl’s marks were consistent with being slapped by an open hand, the report said. She also had bruising under her jaw, under both eyes and on her forehead, the report noted.
When questioned, Ferguson said he struck the child on the buttocks, but said the injuries to her face occurred when a shopping cart fell on her, the report said.
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A physician, however, said the injuries were not consistent with such an accident, the report said. They were “without a doubt from a violent and severe beating about the face as well as choking which is exactly as the victim reported it occurred,” the report said.
Ferguson was booked into the Land O’ Lakes Jail.
Ferguson started with the sheriff's office in June 2011.
No further details are available at this time. It is unclear if Ferguson is the child’s father.
Image via Shutterstock
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