LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy has been charged with a felony count of abuse involving his 5-year-old son, District Attorney George Gascón announced Monday.
Jim Devoe, 28, is accused of slapping and punching his son in the face and then lying to the boy's mother about what caused the injuries, according to a statement released by the District Attorney's Office.
Medical professionals who examined the boy documented extensive injuries, including facial swelling and bruising, an eye hemorrhage and red marks on his head and arms, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Devoe is due in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom for arraignment June 1 and was served Monday with a criminal protective order that bars him from having any contact with the boy, the District Attorney's Office said.
He was arrested May 1 by detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lancaster station and released later that evening on $100,000 bond, jail record show.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Devoe, who worked as a bailiff at the courthouse in Lancaster, has been on administrative leave for several months and cited two law enforcement sources who said he was placed on leave after several allegations of misconduct, including alleged possession of illegal steroids.
Devoe's attorney, Anthony Salerno, denied the allegation involving steroids and told the newspaper that his client was placed on leave after "his driver license was suspended due to speeding at an extremely high rate."
Salerno said that his client "loves his children" and is "not an abuser, and he did not abuse his son," according to the Times.
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