Staff Report

Anthony Daniel Thews

ROCHESTER — A Rochester man was recently arrested after punching a child in the stomach and preventing them from calling police.

Anthony Daniel Thews, 40, 913 Jefferson St., Apartment A., Rochester, is charged with domestic battery with bodily injury to a person under 14 years of age and neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury, both level 5 felonies; and interference with the reporting of a crime, a class A misdemeanor.

On Jan. 22, a Rochester police officer went to a residence regarding a woman requesting a welfare check on two children after they had allegedly been battered by a severely intoxicated man.

Before entering the residence, the officer could hear children speaking through the door, saying they were scared and wanted the police. One of the children eventually answered the door and said Thews had just taken off running. A second officer was dispatched to find Thews, who ran into a local business.

Court documents said the children believed Thews was extremely drunk and showed the officer alcoholic beverages Thews had been consuming. One of the children said Thews wanted them to turn the stove on, and when they didn’t, Thews punched the child in the stomach. The child also said Thews had hit them in the back of their arm.

When the child tried to call the police, Thews took the cell phone. The children’s mother said they were FaceTiming with their child when Thews punched the child in the stomach. The mother said she lived in Lafayette but was on her way to Rochester to pick up the children.

Later, the officer interviewed the children and their mother at the Rochester Police Department. The mother said she has full custody of the children and that Thews has no custody whatsoever. She said she was trying to be nice by allowing Thews to see the children. The mother told the child who was punched to call 911, but that Thews prevented that from happening.

The child that was punched by Thews told officers several times that they were scared because they felt like they were going to die. The second child attempted to get Thews to stop attacking the child by pushing him away. Thews allegedly burned the second child’s hand with a cigarette.

Thews told officers he had done nothing wrong; a portable breath test showed Thews had a 0.16% BAC.

Thews was booked in the Fulton County Jail on Jan. 22, with a $7,500 surety bond.