Cop faces child abuse charge in hot-iron incident

Erica D. Johnson

Monday, Feb. 2, 2004 | 11:05 a.m.

A Metro Police officer will face a single felony charge of child abuse and neglect in connection with the slapping of his 13-year-old son and burning of the teen with a hot iron.

The indictment charging Vincent Jerome D'Angelo Jr. was unsealed Friday before District Judge Michael Douglas. Douglas did not issue a warrant for D'Angelo's arrest, but issued a summons requesting him to appear before District Judge John McGroarty for an arraignment on Feb. 5.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent, who presented the case to the Clark County grand jury that later indicted D'Angelo, declined to comment on the details of the case. He noted that grand jury proceedings are secret.

D'Angelo's attorney, Steve Wolfson, said Friday that his client maintains his innocence.

"A grand jury proceeding is only a probable cause finding," he said. "It is a one-sided presentation where the entire story is never told. We're looking forward to the future, when both sides can be presented and the entire truth will come out."

A Metro Police spokeswoman said this morning D'Angelo has been suspended without pay from the police department. D'Angelo was never arrested but posted $5,000 bail through North Las Vegas Justice Court, according to court records.

According to court documents, Child Protective Services officials received a report from a local high school on Oct. 3 stating that D'Angelo's 13-year-old son had come to school with a burn in the shape of an iron on his right arm.

"The holes for the steam to release were clearly imprinted into (the teen's) arm," according to an affidavit taken by a North Las Vegas Police detective.

The teen also "had bruising and swelling under his right eye and a broken blood vessel in his right eye."

According to the affidavit, the teen told a school counselor that his father burned and slapped him because he'd put an iron in a drawer while it was still hot. He told Child Protective Services officials that his father threw him on the couch when he discovered the iron.

The teen said his father "grabbed the iron from off the counter and put it on (the teen's) forearm, lifted it and put it onto (the teen's) wrist and hand. (The teen) began to cry so Vincent started to slap (the teen's) face from check to cheek about fifteen times."

According to the affidavit, the teen told officials that his father calls him names, which hurts his feelings. He said his father often slaps him, but has never left a mark before.

Child Protective Services officials interviewed D'Angelo, who told them that it was his son who had burnt him with the iron. The officials noticed that D'Angelo had a red burn mark on his left forearm.

D'Angelo told officials that the teen was getting ready to go to school with a wrinkled shirt on. D'Angelo told his son to iron the shirt and the teen put the hot iron into a drawer and the iron was melting the cord.

According to the affidavit, as D'Angelo spoke to the teen about the iron, the teen "brushed passed him in the hallway, causing the iron to burn Vincent's left forearm."

"Vincent said that when the iron started burning, he back-handed (the teen), trying to keep his arm from being burned further."

D'Angelo told officials he was aiming for (the teen's) shoulder in an attempt to push him onto the couch. "However, Vincent missed (the teen's) shoulder and struck him in the face, knocking him to the couch," the affidavit states.

"Vincent felt disrespected for being burned so he slapped (the teen) in the face with an open hand."

At the conclusion of the investigation, the detective wrote, "based on the given details I believe Vincent D'Angelo committed the crime of child abuse when he caused (the teen) unjustifiable physical pain as a result of the injuries."