St. George man arrested for alleged beating of teen

ST. GEORGE — A Southern Utah man has been charged with felony child abuse following a beating over the weekend that left a teen with suspected facial fractures.

2020 stock image for illustrative purposes only of St. George Regional Hospital taken by Chris Reed, St. George News

On Friday, 29-year-old Joseph Esau Soi, of St. George, was arrested shortly after 7 p.m and booked into jail on one second-degree felony count of child abuse, following an incident reported hours earlier, according to charging documents filed with the courts.

The charges stem from a call to police reporting an assault that took place at the suspect’s residence earlier that evening.

According to the police report, officers responded to learn the teen was assaulted by Soi during an altercation that began as a verbal argument.

Authorities say the teen was at the suspect’s home with another youth when an argument broke out over money allegedly owed to the suspect by a friend of the teen. During the argument, the suspect ordered both youths to leave his home.

The suspect then followed the pair outside. As the teens were loading some items into a vehicle, the report states, the suspect told the teen to remove his vehicle from the driveway.

After the teen said he would move his vehicle after he was finished loading in the items, Soi picked the teen up off his feet and “body slammed” him onto the ground, the report states.

Officers also state the suspect repeatedly punched the teen in the face with a closed fist, while the youth was still on the ground.

In this 2021 file photo for illustrative purposes only St. George Police respond to an incident on 100 South and River Road, St. George, Dec. 17, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The assault was evidenced by multiple injuries found on the teen’s face, including a left eye that was swollen completely shut, his nose that also was “extremely swollen,” as well as several “goose eggs” that were visible on the teen’s forehead.

An ambulance was on scene when officers arrived to tend to the teen. Later, emergency medical personnel told officers it was likely the teen’s nose was broken, and they also suspected the youth sustained a fractured orbital socket on his left eye, as well as other facial and head injuries, the report states.

While the teen was at the hospital having the injuries X-rayed, the suspect reached out to police and “was remorseful for his actions,” the officer noted in the report, adding that Soi was taking responsibility for what he had done.

Due to the age of the victim, as well as the high likelihood of the two facial fractures, Soi was booked into jail on Saturday evening. The following day, he was released from custody after posting bail.

On Tuesday, the case was filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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