ITEM FILE PHOTO
Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo presents Marcos R. Garcia, center, with a heroism award in this May 23, 2016 file photo.
A 32-year-old officer with the Revere Police Department was arraigned Thursday in Chelsea District Court on charges of physically abusing a young child, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.
Marcos R. Garcia of Saugus is charged with assault and battery on a child causing injury and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
At the request of Assistant District Attorney Alissa Goldhaber, Judge Michael Patten set bail in the amount of $5,000 and ordered Garcia to stay away from and have no contact with the victims and witnesses in the case and have no contact with children under the age of 18, except his own child, without the knowledge of a parent or guardian.
Goldhaber told the court that Garcia had been in a romantic relationship with the mother of the 5-year-old victim. On Jan. 12, when the child did not eat dinner quickly enough, Garcia allegedly sent the child to a bedroom, placed him in handcuffs, and beat him with his hands and a belt, Goldhaber said.
Garcia allegedly instructed the child to shower and rubbed ointment on wounds sustained in the beating. Prosecutors said Garcia told the victim and a second child who was present in the home at the time to tell anyone who asked that the injuries were the result of falling down a flight of stairs.
The following day, the victim attended school and asked the nurse for a Band-Aid. The nurse observed bruises on the front and back of the child’s torso, arms, and neck. The victim was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital for treatment and documentation of the injuries.
Clinicians also detected elevated liver enzymes, which are sometimes attributable to abdominal trauma, Goldhaber said.
After initially stating that the 5-year-old had fallen down the stairs, the victim and the second child later said they wanted to “tell the real truth” and participated in separate multidisciplinary interviews, Goldhaber said.
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Massachusetts State Police arrested Garcia on Saturday after an interview. Their investigation is ongoing. Garcia returns to court Feb. 23.
Garcia has been with the Revere Police Department since August 2013. He is currently on paid administrative leave, Lt. Amy O’Hara said Thursday.
On May 23, 2016, Garcia was one seven Revere officers awarded by Mayor Brian Arrigo for acts of heroism. Garcia, along with two other officers, received medals for removing two victims from a motor vehicle and providing CPR at the Wonderland Marketplace on May 31, 2015.
