An East Naples man was arrested Tuesday after deputies say he beat a 3-year-old child with a belt and his hand, leaving marks and bruises.
Nichoulas Arthur Sousa, 21, was arrested and charged with child abuse without great harm.
Deputies learned of the abuse after responding to a report of an argument between Sousa and the child's mother in the parking lot of an East Naples restaurant on Monday.
According to sheriff's reports, a woman who lives with the child and his mother told the mother on Monday that Sousa had been abusing the boy. The woman said she saw Sousa beat the child's buttocks with a belt multiple times, leaving bruises. She also saw Sousa smack the boy in the face, leaving a handprint, reports said.
On Tuesday, Sousa voluntarily came to the sheriff's East Naples substation, where he spoke with investigators. He was arrested and booked into the Naples Jail Center.
