Police officer charged with assaulting son

LYNN – A judge ordered an Everett police officer who lives in Saugus to stay away from his 10-year-old son and the boy’s mother after a prosecutor said Jermaine Bellard struck the boy’s back and buttocks with a belt 14 times.Bellard, 32, of 1 Rice St., pleaded innocent to a charge of assault and battery on a child with injury in District Court Friday.Assistant District Attorney Mark Byron stated in court that the boy told investigators Bellard ordered him to lie down on a bed and hit him repeatedly with the belt for “being disruptive in school.””What you have before you is not a scenario where the defendant just lost his temper. Unfortunately, it was premeditated: One, two strikes were not enough,” Bryon stated.Byron said the boy attends school in Saugus and said the incident occurred on Thursday. Bellard is married, but not to the boy’s mother.Judge Ellen Flatley set $1,000 bail for Bellard in addition to issuing a stay-away order. She also ordered the court file containing details of the charges impounded after Byron said pictures included in the file show “a battered 10-year-old.” She ordered Bellard to return to court on Aug. 6.Bellard’s attorney, Terrence Kennedy of Everett, said Bellard has “no history” with the state Department of Children and Families. He told Flatley that “legal argument is very strong for the right of a parent to discipline a child.” The judge disagreed.”My client is a very good family man and police officer,” Kennedy said.Following Bellard’s arraignment, Kennedy said Bellard has been an Everett police officer for three years and said he was “suspended administratively” following his arrest. Attempts to reach Everett police spokesman Paul Strong on Friday were unsuccessful.Byron described in court how the boy sustained black and blue bruises on his lower back and how the boy’s mother recounted her son’s description of the marks.”?Dad hit me with a belt because the principal called home and complained about my behavior,'” Byron stated.