Home > Crime > Roger Stephens Takes Matters Into His own Hands

Roger Stephens Takes Matters Into His own Hands

September 2, 2009 at 10:55 am by Morbid

STONE MOUNTAIN, Georgia. – While in a Stone Mountain Wal-Mart, Sonya Mathews was dealing with her crying 2-year-old. Fellow customer, 61-year-old Roger Stephens doesn’t like crying children much and felt that Sonya was not dealing with situation correctly. He told the mother that if he did not shut the kid up, he would do it himself. When the child would not stop crying, Stephens slapped the kid several times in the face remarking, “See, I told you I would shut her up.” Customers held him at teh scene until police arrived and he has been charged with felony cruelty to children and being held in the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond.

The little girl, Paige Matthews, did not suffer any major injuries, just some redness from being slapped in the face several times by a crotchety old man. Stephens reportedly told police that he could not shop because the girl was crying and could not take it anymore.

I am not gonna sit here and lie and say I have never wanted to do exactly what Stephens did. Any one of you would be lying if you said otherwise. Many times I have wanted to slap the shit out of some kid – along with their parents – who is being allowed to throw a fit in a store, restaurant, theater, etc. while the parent behaved as if there was nothing wrong. Even though I am kinda living vicariously through this ornery looking fucker, you just can’t do this. If somebody ever had slapped my crying kid in a store that person would be leaving Wal-Mart with a giant jar of pickles crammed so far up their ass you could have him open their mouth to take the lid off.

Source | Source

You know who else liked correcting children who did not behave correctly?

One of the caretakers of the Overlook Hotel, Charles Grady. He had twin girls with behavioral issues. He corrected them.

Camilla Fields Chucked The Baby (dreamindemon.com)
Brindin Sieff Had Trouble With One Of The Twins (dreamindemon.com)
Constantine Toncz Crushed Sabrina Stanek (dreamindemon.com)
Katie Furtaw Nibbled On The Baby (dreamindemon.com)

Roger Stephens Takes Matters Into His own Hands

Tags: Child Abuse, Georgia, Wal-Mart

36 Comments

Comments

V2 Cigs electronic cigarettes - Break Free From The Pack!

The views expressed in the comments are those of the comment writers and don't represent the views or opinions of D'D or its staff. Feel free to flag comments that may violate conditions outlined in our Disclaimer.

Muertaluna

Hope this f**k wad doesn’t have children or grand children of his own. Oh man, I would of LOVED to have been the mother in that moment, you would of had to peel me off of him. He would of looked like this
http://www.myspace.com/momof62006 Undeniable Truth

Oh huh-uhhh. There would have been a dead motherfucker in Wal-Mart.
Special2bme

You know who else liked correcting children who did not behave correctly?

LOL Morbid

OMG, I would be slapping him in the face multiple fucking times & going off on him. That would be the last time he touched my child. I don’t care wtf he did to me but don’t touch my child.
sheevaa

not that he was right…but I wonder if the girl will shut up in stores from now on Ahhh, sweet sweet silence!
redsaid

I agree I hope he doesn’t have kids, but he probably does…I’m surprised he didn’t have to be wheeled out of that store after all the people who witnessed this. I’d be like “who’s got a two by four????!!”
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

This guy’s mugshot is PERFECT. It fits the story to a ‘T’.
http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12 Athena

Damn! I have never seen a more curmudgeony mugshot!

I’m totally saving this article for when I have kids. This guy is grade A boogeyman material. “You know why you don’t want to throw fits in public, honey? Because THIS man will come for you. See? It’s in the newspaper.”
Veronica

I’ve definitely felt like slapping someone when there is a kid running wild in a store or screaming, or crying, or any of the other normal-kid stuff. However, my anger has always been directed at the parents, and then only if they clearly have no interest in trying to remedy the situation. There is nothing worse than parents who have learned to simply tune their kids out, and don’t give a shit that everyone else who has to come in contact with the kid is probably not able to do so. It also pisses me off because if you are apathetic enough to ignore your kid when he’s screaming his head off, you are probably apathetic enough to neglect them in other ways.

That said, it sounds like this mother WAS trying to calm her daughter down, and this guy is just a mean old fucker. Anyone who can look at a toddler and hit her in the face needs to face some serious consequences in my opinion.

I have also noticed that a certain contingent of older people feel they can do whatever the fuck they want, whenever they want, to whoever they want, because they’ve “earned” it. My grandmother is British and she is adamant that senior citizens in the US are among the most self-centered, demanding people she’s ever encountered. She can’t stand being around other old people! LOL. BTW, I am not saying ALL older people in this country are like that, but I think everyone knows what I mean. The South Park episdoe “Grey Dawn” really summed up this attitude Let’s hope the AARP doesn’t pay for this asshole’s defense.
granny-g

I am a firm believer that people that are total ass holes when they are young & middle-age are still ass holes when they are old.
Being old does not somehow make you magicly sweet.
A dick is a dick is a dick……..this old fart is a DICK!
msolsen05

Ya know, I had some old bag come up to me in the commissary when I was getting ready to shop. My two year (now almost 4) old daughter was in the cart crying loudly due to a double ear infection. I had to get some ibuprophen, and some other things much needed. She came up to me looked at my crying babygirl and poked her in the chest kinda hard and told her to be quiet. I grabbed grandmas arm and told her if she didnt beat it I was going to break her freaking back! Okay its annoying when kids have meltdowns in the store, however–and just throwing this out there—could it be that some kids might be sick, tired, have an ear infection???? I can guarentee you if some crothety fucktart like this asshat did that to my kid I would be on here with a story as to WHY I killed the asshole! It makes me nuts that an adult could not handle himself/herself and just tune it out or better yet leave. But to assault a 2 year old? Wow, he was soooooo good at handling that in a mature way!
Veronica

Ya know, I had some old bag come up to me in the commissary when I was getting ready to shop. My two year (now almost 4) old daughter was in the cart crying loudly due to a double ear infection. I had to get some ibuprophen, and some other things much needed. She came up to me looked at my crying babygirl and poked her in the chest kinda hard and told her to be quiet.

I had 60 ear infections before I turned 5. Before I got ear tubes, my grandmother said I cried a lot in public from the pain and would bang my head on her chest. Some people would make dickhead remarks, and one asshole even asked if I was “retarded or something” because of my head-banging. She told them all to fuck off (she’s a pretty rad grandma). Seriously, some people are just insensitive assholes. It’s a good thing no one touched me, though, because she would have broken their fingers.
angela

Walmart is a big place…why didn’t he take his ornary ass to the other side of the store?
Jury

She came up to me looked at my crying babygirl and poked her in the chest kinda hard and told her to be quiet.

****explode in laughter*****
Wildheart

I had 60 ear infections before I turned 5.

Same here, although not sure of the exact number. Ever had to have those infected eardrums lanced?? Now THAT’S fun for a 5 year old let me tell you!

If I were this child’s mother they would still be peeling me off this old fuck!
mzkea

If somebody ever had slapped my crying kid in a store that person would be leaving Wal-Mart with a giant jar of pickles crammed so far up his ass you could have him open his mouth to take the lid off

Hahahaha…Now that was funny and I totally agree with you! I would have gone to jail myself for kicking his ass!!!
SickenEd

Yanno, I’d be lying if I said I’d never had fantasies about smackin some lil heathen that was running all over hell and tarnation in the store before.. But, again, YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!!… I am sympathetic to parents of sick children.. It’s these ones that just run around playing and not paying attention to what they are doing or throwing a temper tantrum because they aren’t getting their way that irritate me…. Now, that being said, had this piece of shit come up and smacked my kid, that would have been the LAST thing he ever did..
Veronica

Same here, although not sure of the exact number. Ever had to have those infected eardrums lanced?? Now THAT’S fun for a 5 year old let me tell you!

If I were this child’s mother they would still be peeling me off this old fuck!

Oh yes, I got to experience the wonders of having a huge needle stuck in my ears, though they gassed me first. It hurt pretty bad afterward, though. I don’t think the hospital staff was used to having toddlers demand OxyContin, they seemed really disturbed. Just kidding.
haunted33

I want to know how he got close enough to the kids to hit it more than once in the face. If he smacked my child one time I would have been the one doing the smacking after that at the very least I would have grabbed my child and ran for the service counter or a greeter, or maybe a security guard?
ImmortalOne

“See I told you I would shut her up…”

The moment that man even tried to lay a hand on my child, let alone doing so… he would pull back a stub. I would’ve turned around and fucking decked him so hard then kneed him in the balls. And it would have been “in defense of another”… so totally legal.
MadeaBecBec

Look at the size of those ears!! That poor babys crying must’ve bounced around and seriously echoed there!! If Stephens ever gets to go back to WalMart, he should take some ear muffs or ear plugs with him, I don’t believe I’ve been to WalMart, that I didn’t hear at least one child crying!
The old elephant-eared fart needs to just stay away from Department stores, period.
soldierswifey

What a grumpy old man….His ugly ass face probably scared the poor kid into tears. Like smacking a kid is really gonna make it stop crying. Theres been a few times my daughters been fussy and whiny at walmart and its not like I really want to be there either that stores got us all by the balls. Go in to buy one or two things and when you leave you have a buggy full of crap. What is boils down to kids are gonna cry and it can be so annoying but I dare anyone to lay a hand on my child. I say if your gonna go to walmart you have to be prepared to be annoyed by something rather it be the lack of parking, the crowd,the fat lady in the scooter too lazy to walk and running into someone you know. We should come up with a really good nickname for this ass and have him branded for life.
CassieMomma

This guy’s mugshot is PERFECT. It fits the story to a ‘T’.

True Dat!

I’m with the rest, that old fuck would of been in a world of hurt if that were me and my daughter and I can only imagine if my husband was there……
MadeaBecBec

A Gwinnett County man accused of slapping a crying toddler in a Stone Mountain Wal-Mart on Monday will remain in jail at least until next week.
Roger Stephens, 61, has been ordered held in the Gwinnett County jail until his next court appearance on Sept. 8.
In his first-appearance hearing Stephens said he was unemployed.

Source
Zibarro

Cracken me up here! Y’all are way too funny for this serious shit – or – NOT! Without this humor – we’d all go slice our wrists with our Ginsu’s!

How weird that, at some point in our lives, we’ve all come across someone (man or woman) wearing this EXACT same face! A face that says “I hate the world and everyone in it. You all just need to shut the fuck up or die – and leave me the hell alone”. I feel sad – till I hear/read stories like this one. Most old folks like this just give you a “look”, hoping to make you feel really crunchy about your parenting skills – and move on. THIS guy walks up to the mom making demands like he’s the fucking King Of Wal Mart – and then HITS a child he’s never seen in his life before that moment?? I’m sorry – he is DANGEROUS. If he’s driving – road rage is definitely on the menu. If he’s married – spousal abuse of one or more types has likely already occurred. If he’s a father or grandfather – someone in authority needs to talk to those kids. I have a hard time seeing this as “isolated” to this “one time” on this “one day”. That’s just my opinion.

He’s a mean, self righteous, dangerous, impulsive moron.
Veronica

I have a hard time seeing this as “isolated” to this “one time” on this “one day”. That’s just my opinion.

He’s a mean, self righteous, dangerous, impulsive moron.

I agree totally. This guy has most likely been making everyone around him miserable his entire wretched life, and will most likely die alone and pissed. And he’s probably never once felt that he was personally responsible for anything that’s gone wrong in his life.
Zibarro

And he’s probably never once felt that he was personally responsible for anything that’s gone wrong in his life.

Exactly! He’ll get in front of a judge and say shit like “It was her damn fault” or “It was just a couple smacks.. no big damn deal” … absolutely no remorse or ownership – and that means no change. His freakin’ mug shot shows that he feels put out.

Someone smack HIS face a few (hundred) times please!!
http://www.myspace.com/momof62006 Undeniable Truth

I’m not laughing, Zibarro. That crotchety old fuck would’ve never made it out of the Wal-Mart.

Hell maybe it even makes me “impulsive”, but I’ll be your smacker.
MadeaBecBec

Those who knew him, at least. David and Joanne Wilson have lived two doors down from Stephens for more than a decade but say they never met the man accused of slapping a crying toddler in a Stone Mountain Wal-Mart on Monday.

His only companion was a stray cat he used to feed. Neighbors say Stephens suspected the cat was killed by some kids who sometimes teased him.

One neighbor said Stephens did what many other people wished they could do when bothered by a misbehaving child.

That you Morbid?
Source
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

That you Morbid?

No yet. But I’m getting there.
Wonder

Nancy Grace featured this guy tonight and the 21 yr old mother in the walgreen parking lot that got in the wrong car.
V

I read an article that this guy actually picked up the kid then slapped her. Could you imagine. Some stranger, an irrate man who lacks self-control with obvious boundary issues … advances on your baby and physically picks them up and starts assaulting him/her. This is why I carry a gun.
thequeenofsorrow

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (MyFOX Atlanta) – A 61-year-old man accused of slapping a stranger's 2-year-old child in a Stone Mountain Wal-Mart was found guilty and sentenced to a year of confinement Tuesday.

A Gwinnett County judge found Roger Stephens guilty of cruelty to children in the second degree. He was sentenced to six months in jail and six months home confinement. Stephens has been jailed since Aug. 31, so he has only five weeks left to spend in jail.

Police said last year Stephens slapped the child several times after warning the toddler's mother to keep her quiet.

Stephens elected to have a trial by judge, and both sides agreed to accept the evidence as presented.

Stephens will not be allowed contact with children under age 12 once his home confinement begins. he will have to wear an ankle monitor and undergo mental health counseling.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/Toddler-Sl…
EveryVillainIsLemons

My daughter is pretty well-behaved in the store, and her needs are pretty easy to meet while we're shopping, so if she cries, it's for a darn good reason. If that jerk tried to lay a hand on my daughter, he'd be backhanded so hard that he'd be spitting out teeth.

I can understand wanting to smack the parents of unruly toddlers, but not the toddlers themselves, unless they're running wild…in which case, all of them deserve to be smacked. I remember being in Wal-Mart a few months ago and seeing a woman with a toddler and a baby that didn't look like it was old enough to sit up properly in one of those two-seater things that force the kids to sit up. The little baby was so upset that it was red all over, and the mom was just walking along, pushing the cart like she was totally oblivious to her child's discomfort. I have no idea if she was on a cell phone or was just a complete moron, but I was so angry, I was shaking. I wish I'd been thinking clearly enough to ask an associate to talk to her and see if there was a cart with a more comfortable seating arrangement for her little one.
Dakota Valkyrie

Roger Stephens, who captured national headlines last August after repeatedly slapping a 2-year-old at a Stone Mountain Wal-Mart, was sentenced to one year in jail Tuesday following a brief bench trial in Gwinnett County.

Stephens apologized to the little girl's family but did not testify. The trial was held without a jury as agreed upon by prosecutors and the defense.

Stephens was given credit for the four-plus months he's already served. By the first of March — six months into the sentence — Stephens will be eligible for house arrest, though defense attorney Jeff Sliz told the AJC that the retired Georgia Power worker would have difficulty paying the accompanying $300 monthly fee.
[...]

http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/man-sentenced-…
defenestratethis

Just look at that face. This guy has baby-slapper written all over him.