Dad chokes 4-year-old son for losing shoes (Sorrento, Florida)

Dad Patrick E. Donovan has been arrested for choking his 4-year-old son because the boy "couldn't find his shoes." The little boy says he's afraid of his dad, and the mom reports a "history of domestic violence" with him.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/orl-bk-lake-child-abuse-092909,0,4876283.story

Lake County man charged with child abuse on his 4-year-old, police say

Sentinel Staff Writer

September 29, 2009

SORRENTO - A Lake County man was arrested for child abuse involving his 4-year-old son after the child told law enforcement that his father "choked him" because he couldn't find his shoes, authorities said in a report.

Patrick E. Donovan, 29, of Sorrento, was arrested late yesterday on a single count of child abuse, domestic violence, according to an arrest affidavit..

The 4-year-old first told his mother that Donovan had choked him. The child later told a Lake County Sheriff's Office deputy and a state Department of Children and Families investigator the same story, according to the report.

The boy demonstrated how Donovan "choked him by wrapping both hands around his own neck and making choking noises," the affidavit states. When he was asked why he had been choked, the boy said "because he could not find his shoes," the affidavit continues.

The boy also said he is afraid of Donovan. The boy and the child's mother also confirmed a history of domestic violence, the report says.

The mother and Donovan live together as a family with two children, authorities said.

When Donovan was approached by authorities, he admitted to "grabbing [the boy] by the neck to turn his head and show him where his shoes were," the affidavit states. Donovan said he was frustrated with the boy because he had told him 15 times where the shoes were located, the report states.

Donovan went on to say that when he turned the boy's head the child tripped and Donovan grabbed him to keep him from falling.

"The defendant stated both of his hands may have been around [the boy's] neck in an effort to catch him," the affidavit states. "The defendant later admitted he grabbed [his son] by the neck out of anger."

Donovan remained in the Lake County Jail on $25,000 bond.