Walnut Hill Man Sentenced For Battery On His Son

January 26, 2011

A Walnut Hill man has been found guilty on one misdemeanor battery charge after a summer 2009 incident in which he allegedly beat his son with a stick.

Andrew Kelly Freeman, 41, was sentenced to 12 months probation, ordered to enroll in an anger control counseling program, and ordered to not have contact with his sons. Child abuse and felony aggravated battery charges against Freeman were dropped.

According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Freeman’s 14 and 17 year old sons, who lived at the time with their mother in Georgia, were visiting Freeman at his home in the 7000 block of Occie Phillips Road.

The two boys decided to walk to a nearby house to call their mother to pick them up when Freeman reportedly pulled up in his pickup truck behind the boys and told them to put their bags in the truck and return to his residence. When the 14-year old victim refused, Freeman reportedly struck him multiple times on the back with a stick, breaking the stick. Freeman also grabbed the boy and punched him in the face with closed fist, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.

Comments

17 Responses to “Walnut Hill Man Sentenced For Battery On His Son”

  1. Dola on January 28th, 2011 4:39 pm

    Yall leave Andy lone.

  2. Just An Old Soldier on January 28th, 2011 12:46 pm

    Another lost soul and destroyed family.

    Another opportunity for prayer for this man’s family and his soul, that he may turn his life around and find the True Path of the Living God.

    Lord, help him, his children, and his whole family, that they may healed and be brought into full communion with You. This I pray in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

  3. random dude on January 27th, 2011 8:24 pm

    child abuse to the max

  4. FED UP on January 27th, 2011 1:13 pm

    Jenn
    They never are dear. I’m sure the first time this guy hit one of his young sons
    it was not a public beating with a stick and a fist right in the face. I have
    no doubt this guys physical abuse is a long sad tale that his sons could
    tell you and I’m sure the law has seen much of his abuse of the law.

  5. Jenn on January 27th, 2011 12:33 pm

    No not Andy! Has anyone looked at the rap sheet on this guy? He is NO Stranger to the law by ANY means!

  6. FED UP on January 27th, 2011 9:32 am

    Terri Sanders
    Your right on the target yourself. If he is such a good guy in public he doesn’t
    need anger management he needs counseling on how to relate with his children
    If he is not interested in that then he doesn’t want a good relationship with his
    children just with the people at work and his neighbors.
    I’m sorry to hear they didn’t have enough of a case to charge him more so the
    children felt they have justice. Then again at least they will have no regrets about
    what happened to their father especially if they should have acted a little different themselves.
    They are just children however, and their father is the adult and should have
    handled himself in a whole different maner, but then if he had acted like a grown
    up his children probably would not have been hitting the road.

  7. myopinion on January 27th, 2011 8:05 am

    with that look on his face, you can see hatred and anger aimed at someone….he needs to be canned himself….and in this neck of the woods, he better be looking over his shoulder, those boys will grow into men one day……jus sayin

  8. bigbill1961 on January 27th, 2011 1:13 am

    He should have at least received what he dished out to his kids.

  9. unreal on January 26th, 2011 8:26 pm

    yep, this is our wonderful judical system, isn’t it great, poor children ! I pray God protects them !

  10. Terri Sanders on January 26th, 2011 6:41 pm

    The state attorney didn’t have enough for a strong case and the boys would have had to come back to florida and testify.Hard to testify against your parent months after the attack.i will share something about anger management classes that my pastor shared with me.If you can control your anger on the job or in public,you don’t need any classes.

  11. Dixie Chick on January 26th, 2011 4:37 pm

    Bill2,
    I know you find it hard to believe but some parents actually do beat their kids. Just because Daddy said he didn’t do or the kid needed it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I’m all for a good butt whipping but not with a stick on the back or some grown man hitting a kid in the face with a closed fist. You and I were not there so we don’t know what happened. If they were going to neighbors house to call home then they must’ve had a good reason. Maybe he didn’t want to get told on!!

  12. sambo on January 26th, 2011 3:48 pm

    I hope your not threatning to beat the State Attorney.

  13. William on January 26th, 2011 8:52 am

    >Are you sure it wasn’t a switch and not a stick or the butt and not the back ?

    According to the Sheriff’s Office report: “a bamboo-like stick, swinging at him multiple times and striking him on the back…the stick breaking over his back”.

  14. Bill2 on January 26th, 2011 8:48 am

    Are you sure it wasn’t a switch and not a stick or the butt and not the back ?

  15. CreamPuff on January 26th, 2011 8:31 am

    Oversight your right on target. I’m thinking we need a new state attorney.
    It’s like someone said two days ago, “beat your wife and kids NO PROBLEM”.
    We need to clean house on people who still live by the archic rules of only
    the strong survive. Everyone deserves to have a decent chance at life and
    that doesn’t include people who can’t have a relationship with anyone without
    reducing to violence.
    THESE CHARGES SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN REDUCED. MAYBE THE STATE ATTORNEY NEEDS TO BE BEAT WITH A STICK TILL IT BREAKS AND
    SEE WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT IT THEN!

  16. Angi B. on January 26th, 2011 7:10 am

    Children do not ask to be brought into this cruel world, How could someone be so cruel? I think he needs more punishment than just the little that he has gotten!!!

  17. Oversight on January 26th, 2011 5:57 am

    Way to go, Dad; NOT! And for the State Attorney for reducing the charges, you have weak moral standards in protecting children and the community.