James Peace, the 37-year-old stepdad, has been charged with a felony after slapping a 12-year-old boy in the face for bullying his stepdaughter.
The altercation happened on February 14. Peace was called by his stepdaughter to be picked up from school after she had been bullied.
At first his daughter was walking home but she called her stepfather after a classmate and the classmate's friend began harassing her as she walked.
Texas Dad says he's sorry for slapping a 12-year-old boy his step-daughter accuses of being a bully. James Peace was arrested and charged with felony injury to a child. @ABC13Houston: https://t.co/s9iLqqgF5S pic.twitter.com/swXcIGvzlr
— Morning Express with Robin Meade (@MorningExp) February 20, 2019
'They were saying that her body was ugly, said that she was a transvestite, started throwing ice cream at her and then they picked up the rocks,' the girl's mother said.
After Peace picked up his daughter he saw the boys and stopped the car to go and confront them. The confrontation started out with Peace shouting at the boys, but ended up with him slapping one of them across the face.
After being slapped the boy had red marks on his face and his jaw swelled. Peace then told the two boys that if the told anyone about the incident he would beat them up.
Per Daily Mail:
Teachers caught wind of the scuffle the following day after the boy said he was afraid to go to lunch in case he saw the girl.
He also showed teachers a picture he took of his face after the incident, which showed it was 'extremely red and appeared to be swelling'.
Police were called and interviewed Peace, who initially denied slapping the boy but confessed after being told that a home CCTV camera had caught the moment.
Peace told investigators that his stepdaughter suffers from depression and that the bullying had caused her 'serious psychological harm'.
He has now been charged with injury to a child under 12, which is a felony, and arrested. He was released from jail on $15,000 bond Monday.
Peace's wife said that his emotions had got the better of him and that she does not condone his actions.
Records show Peace has been convicted of theft twice and was convicted of felony drug possession last year, stemming from a 2016 arrest.
What do you think about the incident? Was the stepdad fair or foul when it comes to defending his stepdaughter?
It's understandable how angry he was, but you can't go slap a 12-year-old boy in the face, no matter how angry he was.
