ARP, Texas — Court records obtained by CBS19 cast new light on the circumstances that led to a 5-year-old Smith County boy’s disappearance in April.
According to the arrest warrant, Weldon “Nash” Miller, 24, is accused of child abuse, which may have led the boy to run away from home.
The boy was reported missing in the evening hours of April 7. The child was last seen at approximately 5:30 p.m., but the Smith County Sheriff’s Office was not notified until more than three hours later. Deputies and volunteers searched throughout the night before the boy was found by a citizen at 7:38 a.m. the following day.
Investigators took the boy to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County for an interview soon after he was found. The lieutenant who drove him there reported that, en route, the boy said that Miller pushed his head into the wall of the shower and injured the boy’s mouth.
The boy’s mother told investigators afterward that she had spent a lot of time out of town for work. The evening before the boy ran away, she spoke with Miller and her son, and the boy mentioned that Miller “put me in the bathtub and put my head against the wall.” The boy said he brought toilet paper into the bathtub with him and that’s how Miller punished him for it. The mother told detectives she had no knowledge of any other instances in which Miller physically harmed her son.
During a medical examination, a nurse found injuries to the inside of the boy’s mouth. The boy also told investigators that when he got in trouble, Miller spanked him and slapped various parts of his body, including his genitals.
The case was referred by Child Protective Services to the Forensic Assessment Center Network because it has expert pediatricians. The doctor who reviewed the photographs of the boy’s injuries and information from his statement said, “these injuries along with the history provided are highly concerning for child physical abuse.”
A warrant for Miller’s arrest was issued April 19, 11 days after the child was found. Miller was booked into the Smith County Jail two days later. He remains there, with bond set at $250,000.
In the court documents, the boy’s mother explains her relationship to Miller, but that information was redacted in the file obtained by CBS19.
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Miller is a registered sex offender. He was charged with sexual assault of a child. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety’s sex offender database, Miller was charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child against a victim who was nine years old.
Sgt. Larry Christian, a spokesman for the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, said Friday that the boy was placed into the care of a third party through Child Protective Services. "As far as I know, he's doing very well now and is in a safe environment," Sgt. Christian added.