Cops: Unity man charged with locking 9-year-old in closet now accused of hitting child
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A Unity man awaiting trial with his wife for allegedly locking their 9-year-old son in a closet and nailing it shut was charged Tuesday with simple assault for allegedly striking the child in a separate incident.
Shawn Waulk, 32, was charged by state police with simple assault after the youth told a children’s advocate his father struck him “with a piece of wood across his legs and buttocks” when they returned home during an earlier incident and discovered he had broken free after being put in the closet.
Trooper Evan Terek said in court documents the youth made the disclosure during a Feb. 25 interview with Dr. Kevin Rua, a forensic interviewer for A Child’s Place, affiliated with UPMC Mercy. After the interview, Terek reported the child was taken to the Pittsburgh hospital, “where his injuries were documented with photographs.”
Even though the child said the incident that caused the bruises occurred before Feb. 23, Terek said bruising was visible to the child’s left and right thighs and buttocks. Terek said the prior incident reportedly occurred between Feb. 1 and Feb. 23.
“I would speculate that the victim would have experienced significant pain and injury greater than justifiable in the discipline of a child,” Terek wrote.
On Monday, Waulk and his wife, Tammy Jo, 33, waived their right to a preliminary hearing on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, false imprisonment and reckless endangerment, deciding to proceed to trial in common pleas court.
Afterward, Waulk, in a telephone interview with the Tribune-Review, said they still love their child and hope they are soon reunited with their family.
“We want people to know that we’re really not bad parents. We love our kids,” Shawn Waulk said.
The Waulks said the 9-year-old has behavioral issues. They said three children were removed from their custody and are living with relatives after the Feb. 23 incident.
The county children’s bureau alerted state police in the earlier case after receiving a phone tip that the boy “had been locked and barricaded in a closet screwed down by pieces of wood,” Terek reported in court documents, leaving him “unsupervised and trapped.” Children’s services investigators allege the couple locked the boy in the closet three times in February.
Reached by telephone Tuesday about the new complaint, Waulk deferred comment to his attorney, Matthew Schimizzi of Greensburg. The complaint was mailed via summons by District Judge Michael Mahady.
Attempts to reach Schimizzi for comment were unsuccessful.