HANOVER — Police have charged a 32-year-old Gettysburg man with simple assault and harassment after he allegedly beat his 3-year-old son with a belt.
Billy Joe Treadway, of Major Bell Lane, was charged on May 1 after Hanover Borough Police investigated an allegation reported by Children & Youth Services on February 19, according to the criminal complaint affidavit.
Police say the victim had been staying with Treadway for 10 days, and when he returned on Feb. 14, his mother noticed he had suffered injuries. She took the child to a hospital for treatment the next day, police say. Staff at the hospital took pictures of the injuries, which included bruises and redness in horizontal lines on the child’s lower back and just above his pull-up, the complaint states.
In an interview with Children & Youth in York County on March 26, the child allegedly disclosed that his father hit him with a belt, police say.
Treadway was interviewed by police on April 24. According to police, he initially denied ever striking his child, then admitted to hitting the boy one time with a belt before eventually admitting he lost it on one occasion when the boy wouldn’t stop screaming. He admitted to hitting the boy with a belt four times, causing the child’s injury, police say.
Police say Treadway stated he felt bad immediately afterward, hugged the victim, and apologized.
