Man in Wal-Mart slaps crying child

Roger Stephens, 61, of Stone Mountain,Ga, became so angry about a crying child that he allegedly slapped the girl in the face is due in court Wednesday.

A police report said the man had warned the child’s mother, Sonya Mathews, that if she didn’t quiet down the child, he would do it for her. According to the report, after the mother failed to quiet the girl, Stephens came up to them and slapped the child several times in the face. The report then quotes Stephens as saying, “See, I told you I would shut her up.”

Mathews then screamed at Stephens and called for security, the report said. The girl, identified in the report as Paige Mathews, 2, was not injured, but did suffer some redness in the face. She was treated at the scene and released, the report said. Stephens was charged with cruelty with children in the first degree, which is a felony.