John Raphael Shorez is accused of torturing a 4-year-old girl.
FENTON -- A 35-year-old Fenton man is behind bars for allegedly torturing a child.
Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell says a neighbor called the authorities on November 26th after suspecting some sort of abuse coming from her a nearby mobile home at the East View Mobile Park in Fenton.
When authorities and child protective services arrived, they found that 4-year-old Sharon Fisk had been seriously injured.
Sheriff Pickell reports Sharon Fisk lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, John Raphael Shorez, and Shorez’s 2-year-old son.
Sheriff Pickell says Fisk had been playing with Shorez’s son on that day when she accidentally kicked the little boy in the eye. Out of anger, Shorez then allegedly grabbed Fisk and poked her in the eye 20 to 40 times as a form of “punishment.” Reports also indicate that Shorez held the little girl over a space heater, and refused to let her move.
“[This] is certainly not a corrective action. It was a brutal, unnecessary thing to do to a child,” Sheriff Pickell describes.
Sheriff Pickell says there were previous signs of abuse on the little girl that were possibly caused by Fisk. He says that the neighbor who called in the report potentially saved the girl’s life. “It takes a village to raise a child,” Pickell stated. “People have to be looking out. We’re so thankful for the person that did call and put us on notice.”
Fisk has recovered from the injuries and is expected to be alright. She and Shorez's son are currently with relatives under the care of Child Protective Services.
Shorez is currently being held on a $10,000 bond. While the girl’s mother was present during the alleged abuse, she currently does not face any criminal charges.
