Dad charged with felony child abuse for slamming 12-year-old son's head into wall...while chasing boy's mom with ax (Martinsburg, West Virginia)

Wow. Some cases just summarize "dastardly" in a single sentence. Dad ROCKY DAVID SIMS JR. has been charged with one felony count of child abuse for slamming his 12-year-old son's head against a wall...while chasing the boy's mom with an ax.

http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/528123.html?nav=5006

Man charged with felony child abuse
By Edward Marshall / Journal Staff Writer
POSTED: November 20, 2009

MARTINSBURG - A Martinsburg man has been arraigned on one count of felony child abuse resulting in injury in connection to a domestic incident in August in which he allegedly slammed his 12-year-old son's head against a wall after chasing the boy's mother with an ax.

Rocky David Sims Jr., 37, was charged in August with an attempted malicious wounding charge, and he now faces the child abuse charge.

According to court records, on the night of Aug. 15, Deputy W.D. Christian responded to a call for a domestic in progress at Sims' home on Cornerstone Drive.

Prior to the deputy's arrival, Christian was told by central dispatchers that the victims were at a neighbor's home on Blairton Road. When he arrived at her location, Christian spoke to the boy's mother, who said that her husband, Sims, had gotten angry at her, and pushed her and kicked her in the face outside their home.

She said Sims' friends tried to get him off her. Sims then allegedly grabbed an ax and chased after his wife with it, but his friends were able to disarm him. Sims then entered the house and kicked the woman several times in the face, threatening to kill her with a sword if she went upstairs, his wife told police. During the incident, Sims allegedly slammed his 12-year-old son against a wall and "put a knot on his head," records state.

In a statement provided by the juvenile, he said that he helped his mother try to keep Sims from killing her. He said his father then picked up an ax, chased his mother, kicked and punched her, and when she fell, he chased her into the house. Once inside, the boy said that others tried to hold Sims back. He said Sims pushed him as he was trying to help his mother, slamming his head against the wall. The boy and his mother then ran to their neighbor's home, where police were called.

If convicted, Sims faces one to five years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000, or at the discretion of the court, he could be confined to a regional jail for up a year.

- Staff writer Edward Marshall can be reached at (304) 263-8931, ext. 182, or emarshall@journal-news.net