Texas-based US Army sergeant admits beating 3-year-old boy who refused to work on his ABCs

A US Army sergeant stationed in Texas has been arrested for allegedly beating a three-year-old boy. He told police that he struck the child after the toddler refused to work on his ABCs, according to an arrest warrant.

The accused, Paul Thames, 29, an active-duty sergeant with the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, faces a charge of injury to a child. He remained in custody at the McLennan County Jail on a federal detainer as of Monday.

The incident came to light after footage from a neighbor’s Ring doorbell camera, recorded outside an apartment complex in Waco on Friday, began circulating on social media. Police said the video shows Thames repeatedly punching the child in the torso and back with what investigators described as “excessive force.”




According to the arrest warrant, Thames also picked up the boy by the back of his neck and placed his hand over the child’s mouth as the child cried in pain. In the video, Thames can be heard asking the child, “Are you going to stop playing?”

During questioning, Thames told police he had moved in with the child’s mother a few months earlier. He said the boy refused to practice his ABCs, prompting him to take the child outside to discipline him.

Investigators said the child’s mother was working inside the apartment at the time and was not informed of the incident.

Police noted that the alleged abuse would not have been discovered if not for the doorbell footage provided by a neighbor.

The warrant states that Thames later admitted he had “gone overboard” and acknowledged his actions were wrong. He also told investigators that he apologized to the child.

The boy was taken by ambulance to a local hospital with complaints of neck pain, where he was examined and later released.

In a statement, the US Army confirmed Thames’ arrest and said it is cooperating with law enforcement.

“We are aware of the arrest of Sgt. Paul Thames for abuse of a child,” a spokesperson for the 1st Cavalry Division said. “We are disgusted by the video that has been posted. The behavior of Sgt. Thames does not reflect the values of the 1st Cavalry Division or the U.S. Army.”