Coalgate man accused of child abuse

A 36-year-old Coalgate man was charged September 21 with felony child abuse following an investigation conducted by David M. Cathey, Criminal Investigator for the Office of the District Attorney, 19th District of Oklahoma.

The probable cause affidavit filed by Cathey states that he conducted an interview on September 13 with the mother of the alleged victim, an 11-yearold child. During the interview, the mother told Cathey that she and the child’s father, Jonathan Christopher Sevier, were married in 2008 but divorced two years later. She had two more children during a second marriage, and after that marriage ended in 2020, she and Sevier reconciled and began living together as a couple.

The woman stated that after she and Sevier began living together, he became verbally and emotionally abusive to her and the children and that his behavior had recently escalated to physical abuse. She told Cathey that Sevier frequently administered “swat” to discipline the children, forcing them to kneel at a particular chair to receive their swipes with a board approximately 18 inches long and 3 inches wide that he kept on top of the refrigerator.

On the morning of September 9 as the 11-year-old boy was kneeling over the chair used for punishment, he was squirming around to avoid being struck by the paddle, she said. She stated that Sevier was holding the paddle in his right hand and grabbed the child by the neck with his left hand and forced his head toward the chair, striking the side of his face on the wooden arm. The child sustained a significant bruise in the area of his right eye.

A felony warrant was issued for Sevier’s arrest on September 20. He was booked into the Coal County jail and made his first court appearance on September 26 during which the Court entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. He was released on $5,000 bond with orders to have no contact with the alleged victim and is scheduled for an October 20 return court appearance.

Seminole County issued a warrant for Sevier in July in connection with pending felony charges for assault with a dangerous weapon and feloniously pointing a firearm. Records show that a status conference on that case is set for October 6.