A Southern California family expressed outrage after a man who slapped their boy with autism filed court papers Monday to request diversion instead of jail time.
The attorney for Scott Sakajian, who was charged with willful cruelty to a child and battery on a person in July, filed a motion Monday, claiming additional video evidence showed 10-year-old Alfredo Morales "used his left hand to smack the hood ornament" of Sakajian's Mercedes Benz.
The initial video that had been shared on social media showed Sakajian slapping the non-verbal boy with autism after the 10-year-old touched the logo of the Mercedes Benz that was stopped while waiting for the traffic light to change near the intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Osborne Street.
The Morales’ family attorney called Sakajian’s request for diversion “ridiculous,” saying the man has not accepted the responsibility for his action.
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“(Sakajian’s) lawyer said, ‘Oh well, I didn’t know the boy was autistic.’ What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Antonio Villegas, the attorney for the Morales family, said. “It’s not OK to slap 10-year-old non-autistic kids.”
Villegas also claimed Sakajian would be able to remove the conviction record in the future if he successfully gets diversion instead of jail time.
“At the end of his probationary period, if he's successful, he can apply for an expungement, and he'll get it. But he should at least have that on his record for what he did that day,” the attorney said.
The Morales family, who is said to be experiencing a lot of stress, according to the attorney, said they want justice by setting an example, so other people do not experience what their son went through.
“I want all the people in the world to see this is not right,” Miguel Alfredo Morales, the boy’s father, said. “You have to respect the children in any condition.”
In response to the claims by the Morales family, the defense attorney for Sakajian refused to comment on the case except to tell NBC Los Angeles that there’s a “significant amount” of information he had filed, including other video clips and information leading up to the incident.
“The press will be surprised by what comes out in reference to Mr. Morales,” James Blatt, Sakajian’s attorney, said about the boy's father, claiming there is video footage that captured what had happened before he allegedly slapped the boy.
The motion obtained by NBC Los Angeles revealed Sakajian acknowledged that “there is absolutely no excuse for hitting anyone, especially a minor" but noted Sakajian had experienced “repeated vandalism to his vehicle in a similar manner.”
Blatt said Sakajian and his family had to move out of their home after receiving death threats.
A judge will decide by Jan. 23 whether to grant Sakajian diversion, which could include community service or an anger management program.
