A Greenwood man was arrested and Child Protective Services notified after he punched a 12-year-old relative in the face, sheriff’s deputies said.
Stephen Alan Rohl, 63, 930 Silver Valley Court, was arrested on a level 6 felony battery charge after multiple witnesses called police on Sunday morning outside a Greenwood church.
The girl’s dad, who is disabled, called Rohl for help after an argument with his daughter escalated in the church parking lot, according to a report from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
As Rohl exited the church, he heard the man yelling, “Don’t tell me to shut up,” the report said. Rohl grabbed the girl by the arm, pulled her from the car and threw her on the ground, the report said.
He later told police the girl “dropped her weight,” according to the report.
Rohl’s intention was to scare the girl, he told deputies, but she told him to get away from her and that she hated him, which sparked the physical altercation, he said. He told deputies he meant to slap her, but instead must have backhanded her.
She said after she was thrown to the ground outside the car, Rohl tried to hit her, but her dad stopped him.
Once she was back in the car, he hit her, causing redness, swelling and pain on the right side of her face and breaking the passenger side visor and mirror, the report said.
Deputies called a Child Protective Services hotline to report the abuse.
Medics recommended the girl be taken to the hospital for a more thorough examination, but her dad said no, according to the report.
Deputies arrested Rohl due to the girl’s injuries. He was taken to the Johnson County jail, where he was released on $1,200 bond.
