A Schuylkill County man faces a felony aggravated assault charge after police allege he punched a 14-year-old boy, fracturing his jaw and requiring it to be wired shut, because he called him a pedophile.
Shawn Prentice, 19, of Schuylkill Haven, is also accused of throwing a ping-pong paddle at a female juvenile during the same May 3 incident.
Prentice is charged by Schuylkill Haven police with one felony count of aggravated assault, two misdemeanor counts of simple assault, and two summary counts of harassment. Prentice is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 30 before Senior Magisterial District Judge Casimir Kosciolek.
Police say they responded at about 4 p.m. that day to an assault reported near E. Main and St. John streets, later determining the incident occurred in the unit block of E. Wilson St.
Police say a large group of juveniles was gathered in the area when they began calling Prentice a pedophile. When Prentice asked who made the comment, a 14-year-old boy said he did.
Prentice then walked over to the boy and punched him in the left side of his jaw, police say. The boy was spitting blood and there was blood on the ground where the assault allegedly occurred.
Prentice told police that the juveniles were calling him a pedophile and alleged that he was shoved by the 14-year-old during the altercation. He allegedly said he punched the juvenile once in the face after being shoved, police say.
Police say a female juvenile also reported being assaulted by Prentice. She alleged Prentice threw a ping-pong paddle at her, striking her in the back of the head, and then threw a second paddle at her that missed when she questioned him. She did not require medical treatment.
The 14-year-old boy initially refused treatment from EMS at the scene but later went to the hospital for evaluation after vomiting at home, police say. A CT scan at the hospital revealed the boy suffered mandibular fractures to his jaw. The injury required surgery, and the boy’s mouth was wired shut.
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