Sheriff: Man Threw 17-Month-Old Boy Across Room

Deputies arrested a Gaston man Monday who they say threw a 17-month-old boy across a room, causing him to lose consciousness.

Jason Daniel Sightler, 33, is also accused of shaking the boy with extreme physical force, causing him to suffer seizure-like convulsions, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies say Sightler, who was helping take care of the child as a favor to the mother, threw the boy across the room at his house in Gaston around 5 p.m. on September 26. 

He then put the boy in the bathtub to try to force the boy to regain consciousness, according to the sheriff's department. Deputies say Sightler picked the boy up and shook him several times, causing his eyes to roll back into his head and resulting in seizure-like convulsions.

The boy was taken to the hospital, where a doctor determined that the boy suffered a subdural hematoma and retinal hemorrhaging, according to the sheriff's department. The doctor also determined that the hematoma and hemorrhaging were consistent with blunt force trauma that was intentionally inflicted upon the boy.

The boy received medical treatment and was released, deputies say. He is living with relatives and not his mother.

Deputies say Sightler had previously cared for the boy, and that the mother did not pay Sightler to take care of her son. 

Sightler is charged with inflicting great bodily injury upon a child, a felony that carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

He is being held at the Lexington County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond.

Anyone with information about additional instances in which Sightler interacted improperly with children should call the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department at 803-785-8230 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.