Man Allegedly Fractures Child's Neck While Disciplining Him

The Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man alleged to have caused compression fractures to a boy’s neck he was reportedly “disciplining” over the weekend.

According to a complaint written by responding Deputy Eric Samaniego, dispatch received information relating to a child welfare concern on June 18, and sent Samaniego to the 10000 block of W. Indian Creek Road in Tom Green County.

Upon arrival, Samaniego reported, he met with a boy under the age of 14 who had sustained injuries to the lower left portion of his back as well as severe injuries to his left forearm and elbow.

The suspect, 35-year-old Jacob Andrew Ferro, told Samaniego that he had used a 1”X4” piece of wood to discipline the boy that had been modified to function as a paddle. During the investigation, Samaniego learned that Ferro had struck the boy several times, including once on his buttocks, once on the left side of his lower back and on his left elbow and forearm.

“The victim stated Jacob (Ferro) also grabbed him by the neck and forced him downward, which caused him pain,” the complaint states.

The boy was transported from the scene to the Shannon ER, the complaint states, where tests conducted by Dr. Steven Lesser revealed that he had sustained three probable wedging compression fractures to bones in his neck.

Ferro was transported to the Tom Green County Jail, where he was booked on one count of injury to a child with intent to cause serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony. He is being held in lieu of a $75,000 bond.