Pulling of Nipples on 2-year-old Leads to Injury, Arrest

 A 2-year-old boy was injured recently after a New Port Richey area man manhandled the boy’s nipples, according to Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies .  

Thomas Matheson was watching the boy on Friday in New Port Richey while the boy’s mother was at work. At some point, Matheson pulled and twisted the boy’s nipples so hard “the skin covering the nipples was removed,” according to an arrest report.

He did not seek medical attention for the boy. The boy’s grandmother later spotted the injuries and called the Sheriff’s Office.

Matheson was arrested Tuesday. He told deputies he had been “playing rough” with the victim. Although the boy had been shirtless, the man told deputies he did not know he had been hurt.

The boy was taken to a local hospital Tuesday. The arrest report says a doctor said his injuries were likely due to trauma, “and the nipples were removed." He said they were unlikely to grow back.

Matheson, 27, who lives in Cypress Trail Apartments in New Port Richey, was charged with child abuse. He is currently being held in the Land O' Lakes Jail without bail.