Caddo County father accused of slamming teen son unconscious

ANADARKO — A Caddo County man is free on $10,000 bond after he was charged with slamming his 14-year-old son down on the ground hard enough to knock him out.

Paovale Muliagatele, 44, of Apache, made his initial appearance Tuesday in Caddo County District Court where he received a felony charge of child abuse by injury, records indicate.

Muliagatele was arrested shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday after Caddo County Sheriff’s deputy Chason Hurt was called to his home when Muliagatele’s wife reported her husband had slammed their son on the ground, knocking out the teen, the probable cause affidavit states.

Hurt arrived and found Muliagatele on his porch smoking a cigarette; he had bloody knuckles from hitting a door. He told the deputy his son began punching him and head butting him. He said the boy said “he was scared” of his father, the affidavit states.

Muliagatele’s wife told Hurt her husband is a disabled veteran who suffers from PTSD. She said she’d heard scuffling going on between her husband and son and saw Muliagatele pick the teen up by the throat and slam him down, knocking the boy out, according to the affidavit.

The teen said he was going with his mother to the store when Muliagatele asked what he was going to get. When leaving the room, he said, Muliagatele pushed him and he got scared and tried to fight back and get away, the affidavit states. After the slam, he said he “blacked out before my mom came and tried to help me,” Hurt stated.

The boy had a half-dollar sized bump on the back of his head with redness, according to the deputy. His mother later took him to the emergency room for treatment.

Muliagatele returns to court at 9 a.m. May 2 for his preliminary hearing conference.