Criminal Complaint: Man assaulted girlfriend’s son because boy would not pick up toys

The Las Cruces man accused of assaulting his girlfriend’s son allegedly told investigators he was having mental health issues while babysitting the boy.

Zachary T. Ochoa, 20, is charged with “Reckless Abuse of a Child Resulting in Great Bodily Harm.”

A criminal complaint obtained by ABC-7’s New Mexico Mobile Newsroom states Ochoa’s girlfriend left for work at 3pm March 21, 2017.

She left her son in Ochoa’s car at an apartment on the 2200 block of East Missouri.

At about 6:30pm, the woman received a call from a “hysterical” Ochoa, who said the boy fell and hit his head on the floor.

The woman took the boy to Mountain View Regional Medical Center, where doctors observed visible injuries to the victim’s face, head, and buttocks.

The mother told doctors her son had no bruises when she left for work that day.

The court document states the woman told investigators Ochoa has anger management issues and “physically” disciplines the boy. She had previously asked Ochoa to stop hitting the boy, the document further states.

Under interrogation, Ochoa allegedly told police he had been playing with the boy and that while playing, he “nipped” the boy’s ears.

Later that day, Ochoa allegedly heard a loud noise in the victim’s bedroom and went to check up on him. He noticed the boy was holding the side of his face.

The document states Ochoa later recanted his story and told police he “lost his shit” and hit the side of the victim’s head so hard, he “caused significant damage to the boy’s head.”

Ochoa allegdly said he was upset because the boy did not pick up his toys. Ochoa also told police he was having mental health issues and hurt himself because he was upset he had hurt the boy.

Police observed multiple cuts to Ochoa’s arms, forearms, chest and stomach, the criminal complaint states.

Ochoa was jailed on a $2,000 bond.