San Angelo Man Indicted for Slapping Infant Across the Face

SAN ANGELO, TX— A San Angelo man has been indicted for hitting an infant child in the face.

Hunter Lane Pitcher, 29, of San Angelo, was indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury for injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury.

According to court documents, on Nov. 6, 2024, investigators viewed video camera footage from inside Pitcher’s home.

The investigator saw Pitcher slap an infant victim hard enough to cause the child to scream out in pain and cause the bouncing chair the infant was in to be visibly forced downwards. About 20 minutes later, Pitcher slapped the child again, not as forcefully, but still hard enough to cause the infant to cry out in pain.

After the second hit, Pitcher walked around the child’s chair and struck the victim three times in the mouth.

The same day, the investigator interviewed an employee of the Family Advocacy Center on Goodfellow Air Force Base. The child’s mother had scheduled an appointment a day earlier for Nov. 5. The employee advised that, during the appointment, the child’s mother said Pitcher had hit the infant in the face. The employee then made a CPS report.

On Nov. 6, the mother was interviewed. She said on Oct. 31, around 5:20 a.m., she was getting ready for work and getting her daughter ready for day care while Pitcher was watching the infant. The mother and daughter left the residence around 5:50 a.m., and at approximately 8:30 a.m., she checked the notifications from the surveillance video and observed Pitcher abusing the infant.

Pitcher was arrested on Nov. 6, 2024, and was released two days later. He has a jury trial set for June 2, 2025.