Revere man arrested for battery on a child

REVERE – A Revere man was arrested Monday for allegedly holding his elementary school-aged son on the floor with one hand and punching him in the face several times with the other.Mehdi Hussein Mortada, 39, of 315 Charger St., was arrested and charged with assault and battery on a child causing bodily injury.In an interview with police, Mortada allegedly admitted to striking the boy two or three times Sunday night because he wouldn’t take a shower.Police converged on the Whelan School the next morning after the principal called reporting the boy had significant bruising on his face, police said.The boy told police he was watching television when his father ordered him to take a shower. When the boy refused to obey, he said Mortada struck him at least eight times, according to police.Mortada was arrested at the Shell gas station on Route 1 north within hours after police questioned his son.According to police, Mortada allegedly struck his son several times in the past causing the boy to be hospitalized. The boy has an 8-year-old sister but said that the father never struck her.