CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A mother and her boyfriend are facing abuse charges after Clayton County police said a 6-year-old was beaten till he foamed at the mouth and then left unconscious for days.
Officers were called on Tuesday to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Hughes Spalding location regarding a report from the police stating that a 6-year-old was admitted unconscious. Police said the child was and still is suffering from a brain bleed, blood clot in the lungs, broken bones and severe bruising.
During several interviews with the child's mother, 33-year-old Porshe Wells and her boyfriend, Napoleon Ates, police said detectives discovered that an assault happened two days earlier on Sunday, June 4.
Clayton County police said Ates began beating the 6-year-old after he believed the child had stolen $80 from him to give to a roommate. At first, Wells told police that she was not present during the beating, but the department said later she admitted to being there.
Through the investigation, police also found out that Ates beat the child daily through the entire weekend, until the 6-year-old was unconscious. Wells told police after the assault, she attempted to wake the child with a cold bath, but that didn't work.
Wells then neglected to take her unconscious child to the hospital for two days, the department said.
"We also learned that from Sunday until Tuesday, Ms. Wells went to work, got her nails done, and did her normal daily duties until she decided to take her child to the hospital," the department added in their release.
Ates was arrested on Tuesday for child abuse in the first degree and battery charges in Forest Park. The Clayton County Police Department said it is bringing the following charges against him:
- Aggravated assault
- Aggravated battery
- Two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree
- Cruelty to children in the second degree
- Cruelty to children the in the third degree
- Contributing to the deprivation of a minor
The child's mother is also being charged with the following,
- Aggravated assault
- Aggravated battery
- Two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree
- Cruelty to children in the second degree
- False statements
- Contributing to the deprivation of a minor
Clayton County police said early in the morning on Thursday that the 6-year-old is in "extremely grave conditions."
Police later said in an update that morning that the child was in an extremely critical condition and had not shown signs of improvement.