Once upon a bad dream
State Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, faces a felony charge of abusing a disabled adult in Florida following a Nov. 23 arrest. Nicholas, 54, was arrested in Boca Grande, Fla., while on vacation after allegedly punching and kicking his 19-year-old mentally disabled son, according to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report.
The document indicates that multiple witnesses outside of a restaurant saw Nicholas hit his son repeatedly with a closed fist, push him onto the sidewalk and then kick him more than five times.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office contacted Nicholas about two hours after the incident in the hotel room where he and his son were staying. A sergeant reported a small blood stain on a bedspread in the room and observed that the victim had redness and welts on his neck and a foot-sized abrasion to the skin around his left ribcage that appeared to have a shoelace pattern to it, the report says.
Nicholas was placed under arrest and transported to the Lee County Jail without incident. He was released Nov. 24 on a $20,000 bond. Abuse of an elderly or disabled adult is a third-degree felony in Florida, and it carries a prison sentence of up to five years.
[Nicholas] did say on Friday that he intends to fight the charge. He added that he was only trying to keep his son under control… His son suffers from seizures and has a mental condition similar to autism, the report indicates.
Nicholas said his son became disruptive and combative during lunch. He said he was only trying to get his son out of the restaurant, and he described his response as “corporal punishment,” according to the sheriff’s report. Nicholas was elected in 2010 to represent House District 8. He serves on the Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Interim Committee. The biography he provided for his last campaign listed that he has served for more than 10 years as a board member on the Caring for Children Foundation and is a Special Olympics coach.
The legislator said he has no intention of resigning his legislative seat. “I don’t think I committed a crime, so why would I?” he responded when asked.
Email him if you believe kicking someone so hard you leave shoelace imprints two hours later is a crime at bnicholas@wyoming.com. This has shades of Texas Judge William Adams, who beat his disabled daughter using the same excuse.
Nothing says “family values” like getting released from jail on Thanksgiving after being charged with a felony relating to beating a family member.
Signal Boost.
(via socialistscum)
