It is not unusual for children to be curious about a wrapped Christmas Gift. Some adults are also curious about what they are getting. A five-year-old boy was seriously beaten by his mother's boyfriend when he unwrapped a Christmas gift early. The beating was so bad that 25-year-old Wesley McCollum was arrested and faces charges.
The alleged beating
The Oklahoma man was babysitting his girlfriend's children on Saturday (Dec. 16) while Brigette Payne went shopping, according to her Facebook post. When she arrived home that night, the victim's mother said her son had been sent to bed early.
When she checked on him, she could not believe the number of bruises Ayrian had all over his body.
According to KFOR News, Payne said her son was covered in bruises on his arms, back, and had big whelps on his forehead. A large handprint was still on his cheek. Payne posted photos of her son's bruises on Facebook. The post has since been deleted.
Ayrian told his mother that her boyfriend had beaten him for unwrapping a gift that was under the Christmas tree. Through sobs, the little boy told his mother that Wesley hurt him real bad. The boy was taken to the hospital for medical attention and observation.
Police called
The victim's mother admitted that she immediately called the police to report what Wesley had done to her son.
The police arrived a little after 10 PM on Saturday night and arrested McCollum. He was charged him with Child Abuse and child neglect based on the complaint and the evidence they saw. Besides, McCollum confessed to what he had done. His story was the same one as Ayrian had told his mother. The boyfriend said he beat the child to teach him a lesson because he needed to learn to listen.
The case is still under investigation. In the meantime, Payne took out a protective order against the man who beat her child. Around this time of year, people get very stressed and do things that are out of character for them. Payne said she was shocked by her boyfriend's behavior because during the 10 months they had been dating she had never seen him get angry or abuse her children.
It appears that something was triggered when Ayrian opened the Christmas gift that was under the tree before the holiday.
Hopefully, this unfortunate act will not spoil Christmas for Ayrian or the rest of the family. It would be wonderful if the young boy does not have flashbacks because of what happened to him last weekend.
