Palm Coast Father Charged After Hitting 10-Year-Old With Belt

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Palm Coast, FL - A call from a Department of Children and Families investigator to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office leads to the arrest of 45-year-old Ramon Pardo on Tuesday (November 19) night. Pardo is alleged to have hit his 10-year-old adopted child with his belt as punishment for telling a lie.

Deputies were dispatched to a home on New Water Oak Drive in Palm coast at about 8:15 p.m. They made contact with the investigator who advised that a report of physical abuse was called into the abuse hotline from the 10-year-old's school. The caller stated there were bruises on the boy's neck. When asked where the bruises came from, the boy stated they were from "Papi/Obi" because he'd lied about his grades.

The investigator had spoken to Pardo's life-partner, Billy Sprayberry, prior to the deputies' arrival. Sprayberry told the investigator that he and Pardo had first fostered the boy at 12 days old and then later adopted him and another child at a very early age.

Pardo and both children confirmed Sprayberry's information and all agreed on what happened the day that the 10-year-old lied about his grades. Sometime in the afternoon of Monday, November 18, Billy and Ramon were speaking with the boy about his grades and schoolwork. The boy told a lie, at which point both Billy and Ramon got upset and decided to punish the boy for telling a lie. Ramon went to grab the child by his collar when his hand slipped or the boy moved, causing Ramon to "scratch" him on the left side of the neck.

The boy was told to go to his room and take off his clothing down to his boxers. Ramon went to the boy's room, took off his belt, and struck the boy on the back of his legs. Billy said that he saw that Ramon was more upset than usual and stepped in between him and the boy to stop the spanking.

In interviewing the boy, the investigator was told that both Ramon and Billy have spanked him before, using a belt or a paint stick. The investigator noted that neither child in the home appeared to be afraid of Ramon in any way. They also did not appear to be afraid of Billy or of being in the home.

The investigator determined that a safety plan needs to be in place, especially since both Billy and Ramon were present during the abusive actions which did not stop until after the marks occurred. He stated that Ramon could not be with the children unsupervised and that no corporal punishment is allowed during DCF'S investigation.

Deputies arrested Ramon Pardo, charging him with Physical Child Abuse. He has since bonded out of the Flagler County Jail.

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