Man accused of beating boy over birthday cake had prior abuse charge

By DAVID DISHNEAU
Associated Press

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - Court records show that a man accused of fatally beating a 9-year-old boy over a piece of missing birthday cake was charged in 2010 with abusing another child.

The charge of second-degree child abuse against Robert Leroy Wilson was dropped when he pleaded guilty to an assault charge. That conviction was eventually expunged as part of the deal.

The 2010 charge involved the daughter of a woman with whom Wilson lived in Frederick. That woman told The Associated Press on Thursday that she thought Wilson had changed after completing parenting and anger-management classes.

Wilson now faces assault and child-abuse charges in the death of Jack Garcia. Jack's mother, who is also charged in the case, moved into Wilson's Hagerstown apartment last winter after the other woman moved out.

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