Miss. man arrested for allegedly 'severely' assaulting and abusing several children
07/06/2023 1:17 pm PDT
POPE, Miss. (TCD) -- A 22-year-old man was arrested after deputies allege he “severely assaulted” multiple children and then fled the scene.
According to the Panola County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday, July 3, deputies responded to a home on Main Street in Pope and found "several children" injured from apparent abuse. Deputies identified Dalton Melton as the suspect and began searching for him.
The Panola County Sheriff’s Office said they learned Melton was "attempting to leave the area," so they located the vehicle he was traveling in and conducted a traffic stop. He was arrested on two counts of felony child abuse and one count of domestic violence — aggravated assault.
In an interview with WREG-TV, the children’s mother said Melton allegedly told her she needed "to worry about your kids' faces being busted in." Melton allegedly kicked her 6-year-old son with steel-toed boots and threw a stove at him. A 14-year-old child reportedly sustained a broken nose, while a 6-year-old was hit with a phone.
WREG reports Melton is on probation from the Mississippi Department of Corrections and he is currently being held without bond at the Panola County Detention Center.
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