Inset: Hall County Sheriff’s Office deputy Martin Simmons (HCSO). Background: The Harwood Road apartment complex in Flowery Branch, Georgia, where Simmons allegedly assaulted a 4-year-old (Google Maps).
A Georgia sheriff’s deputy allegedly struck a 4-year-old so forcefully that children in a neighboring room heard the impact after the boy refused to go to sleep.
Martin Simmons, 46, of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, is accused of family violence battery and cruelty to children.
The Oakwood Police Department opened an investigation after the Department of Family and Child Services reported a suspected child abuse case.
The alleged assault occurred Sept. 9 inside an apartment on Harwood Road in Flowery Branch, roughly 40 miles northeast of Atlanta, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime. The complaint states that people elsewhere in the apartment heard Simmons hitting the child “through the walls.” When another adult attempted to enter the room, Simmons allegedly refused to let her inside, police wrote.
According to the affidavit, one child opened the door, prompting Simmons to yell at her. The other adult then positioned herself between Simmons and the children.
Simmons was attempting to put the 4-year-old to bed when the child began crying because he did not want to sleep, police told AccessNorthGa.com. The other people in the home reportedly heard the alleged slap through the closed bedroom door.
Police said the blow left a “significant mark” resembling a handprint on the child’s face. Bruising became visible the following day, according to authorities.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office dismissed Simmons on Oct. 14, after an arrest warrant had been issued. He had recently been promoted to investigator and was still undergoing training for the position when he was fired.
Simmons joined the agency as a jailer in July 2023. About a year later, he graduated from the police academy and moved into the patrol division.
He was arrested and booked into the Hall County Jail before posting bond. No date for his next court appearance was listed.
The post Deputy allegedly slapped 4-year-old so hard that children heard it through the wall, leaving a “significant” mark on the boy’s face after he refused to sleep: Cops first appeared on Law & Crime.
