ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Petersburg man was arrested on Tuesday for child abuse after an 8-year-old was left with a permanent disability, according to an arrest affidavit.
Akinyemi Akinleye Laleye, 41, was charged with a felony after admitting to "whooping" the child, the document says.
The affidavit says after a medical evaluation the scars on the child's body verified previous abuse.
The child told authorities he was frequently abused in the home and the marks and disfigurement on his body were a result of being hit with a belt buckle, the affidavit says.
Laleye's charges include two counts of child abuse and aggravated battery with great bodily harm. The affidavit also says the 41-year-old made threats of violence towards a law enforcement officer.