Excuse for abuse: 'Not a morning person'

[JODO 2]

Excuse for abuse: 'Not a morning person'

Updated: 4:55 p.m. CT Oct 20, 2007

EASTON, Pa. - A man who admitted he beat his girlfriend's 2-year-old son offered an excuse that angered a judge: He said he's not a morning person.

Juan Arreola, 20, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment and simple assault. Prosecutors said while moving into a new apartment with his girlfriend on June 7, Arreola kicked her son out of the way, then squeezed the toddler's face.

While looking after the boy three days later, he punched the boy twice, prosecutors said. Arreola's girlfriend brought the child to a hospital later that day, where he was diagnosed with bleeding around the brain. Photos show the boy with severe bruising on his face and back.

When Northampton County Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden asked Arreola Friday if that's how he regularly treated 2-year-olds, he replied: "I was working till midnight. I'm not a morning person."

McFadden said she was almost speechless.

"You're going to look at me straight in the face and say 'I'm not a morning person,'?" she asked.

The judge ordered Arreola to undergo psychological and psychiatric evaluations and set sentencing for Dec. 14. The maximum penalty is a state prison term of more than 20 years.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21393279/from/RS.1/

[Amby 490]

I read this earlier and I was in shock. That is sooooo not an excuse. #######

[Kevin and 10]

Someone should punch Juan Arreola .

[Jason-Sasha 1]

I hope he gets the longest sentence possible. if it were my court, I'd have him strung up and beaten.

[yassmine2878 1]

People who abuse children should be abused by children. I say hang him upside down by his toes and let the kid have at him with a pinata bat until Mr. Juan starts bleeding around whichever brain he's been thinking with.

[JODO 2]

Someone should punch Juan Arreola .

[eau_xplain 2]

Better still.... he should be made to share a cell with a morning person .. preferably someone a lot bigger (and meaner) than him. Let's see how he will deal with that.

[Drew and Tik 0]

20 years? Wow, while this would be excellent, as scum like this deserve to be incarcerated, I truly doubt he will get anything close to that on these type of assault charges. If he gets more than a year I'll be shocked...pleased, but shocked.

[Nessa 23]

hang him!

[DeadPoolX 9]

I'm not usually a "morning person" either, but I don't do that sort of #######. I'm usually pretty confused (and my hair sometimes looks like I stuck a fork in the toaster), but otherwise... I'm fairly normal. This "not a morning person" stuff is complete BS. Nothing more.