A Largo man was arrested today on charges of felony child abuse after he hit his girlfriend’s 7-year-old child during a domestic dispute, Largo police say.
Nicholas J. Beresford, 38, (left) also was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery for grabbing and bruising his girlfriend’s arm during the confrontation Monday night, an arrest report said.
Beresford “slapped the child across the face with an open hand” when the boy tried to intervene and “come to the aid of his mother,” the report said.
Beresford, who also had an outstanding warrant from Manatee County for a probation violation, is being held without bail in the Pinellas County Jail.
In an unrelated incident, a Clearwater man is accused of injuring his girlfriend’s son during a domestic altercation Monday night, according to an arrest report.
The report said that 44-year-old Gregory L. Reed, (left), punched his girlfriend in the chest, causing her to fall and hit her head on a computer. When the woman’s son tried to intervene, Reed grabbed the boy and caused a cut on his finger that required stitches, Clearwater police said. The report did not give the boy's age.
Reed, who has a lengthy criminal history, was being held without bail Tuesday at the Pinellas County Jail.
- Rita Farlow, Times staff writer