DA: Revere cop handcuffed 5-year-old, then beat him with fists, belt for not eating dinner

Marcos Garcia, 32, of Everett, had bail set at $5,000 today at his arraignment on charges he abused his girlfriend's five-year-old son on Jan. 12.

A Chelsea District Court judge also ordered Garcia to stay away from the victim and witnesses - and from all children under 18, except for the child he has with his wife.

According to the DA's office:

[Assistant District Attorney Alissa] Goldhaber told the court that Garcia had been in a romantic relationship with the mother of the 5-year-old victim. On the evening of Jan. 12, when the child did not eat dinner quickly enough, Garcia allegedly sent the child to a bedroom, placed him in handcuffs, and beat him with his hands and a belt, Goldhaber said.

Garcia allegedly instructed the child to shower and rubbed ointment on wounds sustained in the beating. Prosecutors said Garcia told the victim and a second child who was present in the home at the time to tell anyone who asked that the injuries were the result of falling down a flight of stairs, prosecutors said.

The following day, the victim attended school and asked the nurse for a Band-Aid. The nurse observed bruises on the front and back of the child’s torso, arms, and neck. The victim was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital for treatment and documentation of the injuries. Clinicians also detected elevated liver enzymes, which are sometimes attributable to abdominal trauma, Goldhaber said.

After initially stating that the 5-year-old had fallen down the stairs, the victim and the second child later said they wanted to “tell the real truth” and participated in separate multidisciplinary interviews, Goldhaber said. State Police assigned to the Suffolk DA’s office arrested Garcia on Saturday after an interview, and their investigation is ongoing.

Innocent, etc.