A man is accused of hitting his son with a baseball bat and holding him under water, court records show.
This and other details were reported in a charging document issued to initiate criminal charges against James Walker, 40, of Houston, Texas.
Walker is charged with the third-degree felony offense of injury to a child under 15 and the first-degree felony offense of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury in the 338th District Court of Harris County. Judge Ramona Franklin set Walker’s bond at $150,000 -- $75,000 for each offense.
Walker appeared in probable cause court on Oct. 14. A magistrate informed Walker an order for emergency protection had been issued against Walker on behalf of his son.
Walker has a lengthy criminal history dating back to at least 1998. Prior convictions include aggravated robbery, burglary, theft, aggravated assault and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
According to court records, Walker harmed his son, then age 10, on multiple occasions between September and December 2019.
The boy later told his mother that his father had been beating him, holding him under water and throwing him against the wall. His mother reported the complaint to police, court records show.
When interviewed, the child stated “when daddy gets mad, he holds [me] underwater in the bathtub,” according to court documents.
During the course of the interview, the boy spoke about being hit with a baseball bat and a board at various times. He said his father drowned him “a lot,” and detailed an instance when his father struck him in the face before taping his hands, mouth and feet and placing him underwater, according to court documents. The boy stated his father was angry that he and his brother had been screaming while watching scary movies.
In another incident, Walker threw the boy across the room and broke his arm, court records show. The child also said his father had stomped on him while wearing work boots.
The child’s medical records detailed several instances of abuse consistent with the incidents the boy described in his interview, according to court documents.
When asked how often he gets to see his mom, the child said that he did not see his mother often because his father hid him from her due to the bruises. Walker threatened him and pressured him not to say anything about the abuse, the boy stated, according to court documents.
The boy was later diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and is now receiving treatment weekly.