Police: Man accused of child abuse beat, bit toddler

A man accused of severely beating a 3-year-old boy — fracturing a bone near his eye, causing bruising all over and even biting him — was known to be violent, Las Vegas police said Tuesday.

Anthony Benjamin Castro, 21, was booked at the Clark County Detention Center and is facing two counts of child abuse with substantial bodily harm and one count of child abuse neglect, according to a police report.

Officers were called about 1:45 p.m. Monday to an apartment complex in the 4200 block of West Viking Road, near West Flamingo and South Arville Street, where they were told the boy was bleeding and losing consciousness.

His mother, Ashley Miranda, had been living with Castro in her mother’s apartment for a month, police said.

The boy was taken to University Medical Center. His condition was not immediately available Tuesday.

Medical staff at the hospital told detectives that the boy suffered multiple injuries, including a right orbital fracture, bruising all over his face and body and deformity to the back of his head, police said. He had blood in his urine and in his ear.

The women had gone to work Monday and left the boy in Castro’s care. Miranda considered taking the boy to a babysitter because Castro was upset the boy had broken his cigarettes, the report said.

While at work, the report said, Miranda received text messages from Castro telling her that the boy had fallen.

“[the boy] f—- himself up mad this time it wasn’t my fault,” a text said. “He’s good he’s not mad at me he jus hurt himself he look like he got into a fihht (sic),” another one read.

After she arrived and found the boy looking lathargic, Miranda said she confronted Castro who said to the boy, “Tell mommy I didn’t do this to you.”

Miranda told police Castro had a “bad temper.” She told police that her relationship with Castro, which began in March, had a history of domestic abuse. She said Castro was arrested in Indiana during a September incident when he “banged” her head against a wall, the report said.

Castro had fled by the time officers arrived at the apartment but was located nearby soon after.

When police told Castro about the boy’s injuries and that it was not possible they were caused by a fall, he replied by saying “f—- you and f—- you” to a pair of detectives. They saw him kicking chairs and a table and elbowing a wall in a police station.

Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites.