Town man charged with child abuse

A Johnston man has been charged with child abuse after his six-year-old son was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Noel D. Joseph, 36, of 53 Manuel Ave., faces counts of first-degree child abuse and felony assault, according to Johnston Police Maj. Frank Levesque.

Joseph was initially remanded to the ACI, and was later released after posting $75,000 surety bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 14. He was ordered to have no contact with his son.

According to Levesque, Joseph is alleged to have assaulted the boy on April 4. After several days during which the boy was ailing, Joseph took him to the Atwood Medical Center on April 7, at which point a rescue was called and the boy was transported to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

After conducting an evaluation, personnel at that facility contacted police on the morning of April 8. Levesque said doctors at Hasbro told police the boy had suffered internal injuries consistent with blunt force trauma and child abuse.

Joseph was interviewed by officers at the scene and then escorted to Johnston headquarters for further questioning.

Levesque said based on information provided by doctors and an investigation by detectives, “we were able to show that Mr. Joseph assaulted his son on the night of April 4.”

The major said police executed a search warrant at Joseph’s home on April 8 and found additional physical evidence – the nature of which he declined to specify – supporting the charges.

Levesque said the investigation found the alleged assault stemmed from Joseph being angry after his son, a kindergartner, had been disciplined at school.

As of late last week, the major said the boy was in serious but stable condition at Hasbro.

“It’s a miracle that that boy survived those injuries,” Levesque said, noting that the boy was “suffering” for multiple days before receiving medical attention.

“All our thoughts are with this young boy. We’re hoping for a speedy recovery for him,” he added.

Levesque said the Department of Children, Youth, and Families and the office of Attorney General Peter Kilmartin assisted in the investigation. He also applauded the work of the responding officer, David Loffler, and Detectives Brian Loffredi and James Brady.

“These [kinds of cases] are tough, especially the detectives who have small children. These are tough to handle,” he said.