Turtle Creek man accused of assaulting and strangling 3-year-old nephew
TURTLE CREEK, Pa. (KDKA) — An Allegheny County man is charged with assaulting and strangling his 3-year-old nephew.
James Ryan of Turtle Creek is facing a list of charges, and the alleged incident was caught on camera. The victim's mother, Sarah Ryan, believes had she not had video proof that her brother hit her son, he wouldn't be in jail.
"I'm sad that he's in the Allegheny County Jail, but he has to take ownership for his actions," Sarah Ryan said.
It was 7 a.m. on Saturday when Sarah Ryan said she had an argument with her brother. She said he stormed out of her house and the next thing she knew her 3-year-old son, Blaise, was sitting on the front porch crying uncontrollably.
"I heard my son outside crying," she said. "I asked him what was wrong and he said Jimmy hurt me," she said.
That's when Sarah Ryan said she decided to look at her surveillance footage to see what happened. The clip shows James Ryan allegedly hitting his nephew twice in the face while shouting, "I hate your mother." The boy was knocked to the ground and he hit his head on a stone wall, the video allegedly shows.
James Ryan is then accused of picking up the boy by his shirt and choking him, screaming at him to "go inside."
The boy's mother said the video will forever haunt her.
"The video was horrendous. It makes me really sad. That's my family, so I was going back and forth. Should I report it, should I not report it? But as I watch the video over and over again, it just made me do it even more," she said.
The 3-year-old boy was taken to UPMC Children's Hospital for evaluation. He has minor injuries.
Sarah Ryan said her parents aren't talking to her because she turned her brother in. But she said she knows she did the right thing.
"I'm sure 10 years from now if I showed Blaise that video and I said I sent uncle Jimmy to jail for what he did to you, Blaise would be proud of his mother," Sarah Ryan said.
James Ryan is charged with aggravated assault, strangulation and endangering the welfare of a child. He is due in court next week.