WARSAW — A Warsaw man who was reportedly observed punching a girl in a Penguin Point parking lot has been charged with a level 5 felony.

Jeremiah M. Henderson

Jeremiah M. Henderson, 27, 2441 W. CR 250S, No. 30, Warsaw, was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on July 19, and has since been charged with domestic battery with moderate bodily injury.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, two witnesses in the parking lot approached a police officer who was directing traffic during a recent country music concert at Central Park. They told the officer that they witnessed a man place a small girl in the back seat of a pickup truck and they heard the child screaming and then saw the man punch the child in the lower extremities, including the groin area with his closed fists. The witnesses told the officer that the blows caused the child to let out a blood-curdling scream and that they were fearful for her safety.

The officer approached the man, identified as Henderson, and ordered him away from the child. He reportedly told the officer that when the child refused to listen to him, he “tapped her on the backside.”

The report showed that the child was evaluated by EMS and that officers observed bruising beginning to appear on the child’s left and top thigh area, as well as more severe bruising on the outer thigh area. Police reported the girl was wearing a one-piece bathing suit, which provided little protection. The child was released to the custody of Child Protective Services.