Monessen man jailed in child assault case
MONESSEN – A Monessen man is in custody on charges he assaulted a 6-year-old boy Sunday in his residence.
City police arrested Mark Joseph Edwards Jr., 34, after his ex-wife’s sister went to the police station about 9 a.m. Monday to report the assault, court records show.
Edwards, of 513 First St., later confessed to slapping the child across the face as a form of corporal punishment because he “talked back to him,” police alleged in the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint.
The child was evaluated at Mon Valley Hospital, and the case was referred to the Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau, police stated.
Edwards is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, endangering the welfare of children and harassment. He is in Westmoreland County jail on $50,000 bond.