LCPD: Step father spanks child to the point boy had trouble sitting

Las Cruces police have arrested a man after a school nurse found bruising on a young boy’s buttocks from being spanked hard multiple times.

23 year-old Joshua Salais has been charged with one count of child abuse, following an investigation into what led to the trauma on the man’s step-son.

According to investigators, a 7 year-old boy went to the school’s nurse on October 22nd after he had difficulty sitting down. While being checked, the nurse discovered black and purple bruising on the boy’s buttocks.

Las Cruces Police say the young boy would go on to tell investigators he gained the bruising after being spanked by Salais, who only stopped after his mother intervened.

Investigators looking into the matter say Salais used a belt to spank the young boy eight to 10 times over the last two weeks, leading to bruising on the boy’s body being at different stages of healing. Bruising like these are believed by police to be consistent with allegations that the boy was struck with hard force at multiple points over a period of time.

The boy’s grandmother has since taken custody of the child.

Salais was taken into custody on Friday, October 26th, after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center currently without bond