Man Slammed 4-Year-Old's Head Into Wall, Police Say

Police in Nazareth say a Wilson man assaulted a 4-year-old boy, and that the child's mother helped cover up the abuse.

John Lam, 31, of the 1500 block of Ferry Street, was charged Friday with aggaravated assault, simple assault on a child under 12, and endangering the welfare of a child.

According to court records, Lam, who is engaged to the boy's mother, twice assaulted the child -- once in April by slapping his face and in May by slamming his head against a wall.

Both injuries required the boy to visit the hospital, police said.

Initially, Lam and his fiancee, Amy Mertus, 30, of Easton Road in Nazareth, told doctors the boy's injuries were accidental.

Later, Lam told investigators he wanted to "come clean about what happened," and said he shoved the boy's head into a wall when he "misbehaved."

Lam was arraigned before District Judge Richard Yetter in Wilson and sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Mertus, meanwhile, is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She was also arraigned before Yetter, and was free on $25,000 bail.