Local Man Arrested for Violently Striking a Toddler

SAN ANGELO— A San Angelo has been arrested for beating a toddler by slapping her across the face.

Sebastian Xavier Hawthorne, 26, was arrested by the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office for Injury to a Child.

According to court documents, on January 1, 2024, around 9:00 p.m., a complaint had been forwarded to the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office regarding an injury to a child and deputies responded to Shannon Medical Center’s Emergency Room to assist. The witness was inside the room with the victim, a young girl under two-years-old.

The toddler had bruises on her face and head. The witness said she went to pick up the victim from her sister’s residence on Cinnamon Lane. Once she saw the injuries to the child’s face, she contacted the San Angelo Police Department and made a report.

During an interview, the witness said that she picked up the victim from the victim’s mother on January 1, 2024, between 7:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. She asked about the bruising on the victim’s face and the defendant, identified as Hawthorne, said the toddler had been jumping around and bumped her head. He also said the victim had climbed out of her baby crib and fallen a couple times.

Photographs were taken of the victim, who was so sensitive to touch that the witness had to help hold her so photos could be taken. The victim had a large bruise of the right, left, and top of her forehead and face. She also had bruise on the left side of her face near her eye, cheek, and ear. The injuries looked consistent with a slap instead of a fall.

On January 2, 2024, the victim’s mother was brought in for an interview. She said she was admitted to Shannon Medical Center on December 29, 2023, at around midnight and was released the next day in the afternoon. The mother stated that Hawthorne had been taking care of the toddler.

Hawthorne brought the victim into see her mother at the hospital. In a video that was time stamped on December 29, 2023, at 9:16 p.m., the mother could see red marks on the child but did not think they were bad. She then said that Hawthorne had been in the child’s life for a long time, and she did not want to believe he could do such a thing to her daughter.

The pictures that were taken of the child were shown to her mother, who said she believed that they were caused by a hand. The mother started crying and was in disbelief. She denied causing the injuries and then added that Hawthorne had never physically disciplined her child. Although, she was unable to confirm Hawthorne’s involvement with the bruising.

The same day, Hawthrone was brought in for an interview that he could terminate at any time. He admitted that he was in charge of the child’s care and denied physically disciplining her. Hawthrone stated that the injuries and bruises were caused by the victim falling out of her crib. During this time, Hawthorne appeared to be getting nervous. He began to look down and not the interviewer in the eye, he started rubbing his chest and arms and fidgeting with his hands. Hawthorne appeared to be experiencing an extreme amount of stress.

The images of the child were shown to the mother and Hawthorne. The mother had an emotional response to the photos whereas Hawthorne stopped talking and just looked at the images, taking deep breaths. Hawthorne was asked about consenting to a polygraph, which he agreed to do.

A Special Agent from the Texas Department had arrived, and Hawthorne finally admitted to becoming frustrated with the child. He claimed he had gotten frustrated when feeding her and while doing so squeezed her face with his thumb and index finger to open her mouth to remove food. He then allegedly admitted to using about half of his strength when she slapped the victim.

Hawthorne was arrested and charged with Injury to a Child and booked into the Tom Green County Jail on January 2, 2024. He is currently being held on $75,000 bond.