September 3, 2025
Joseph Washington reportedly punched his son so hard that he perforated his intestine.
An Oregon father has received a 10-year prison sentence after punching his toddler in the stomach for “bothering him.”
According to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s website, Joseph Washington received the sentence on Aug. 28 for severely harming his child. He was found guilty of assault in the first degree, for causing serious injury to a child under the age of six, as well as assault in the third degree and criminal mistreatment in the first degree.
The Neighborhood Talk reposted a photo of the convicted man.
The incident with Washington’s 20-month-old son occurred in April 2024 in Southeast Portland. Washington reportedly punched the child so hard that he endured “significant traumatic injuries.” These injuries included a perforation of his small intestine.
The case report also detailed how the life-threatening injury would have prevented the young boy from eating or holding down any food for hours. Furthermore, a physician disclosed that the child would have likely died if he had not received immediate medical care.
The night of the assault, Washington returned the child to his mother due to the child throwing up profusely. The mother immediately transported him to the hospital, where the 20-month-old endured emergency surgery to fix his perforated intestine. The perforation directly stemmed from blunt force trauma.
Washington’s girlfriend later told investigators how he admitted that the child was “bothering him.” His apparent annoyance prompted him to punch his young son twice.
The Deputy District Attorney, Mihnea Moga, spoke on how the defendant’s actions nearly led to the death of the toddler. Additionally, the prosecutor handling the case, Moga, affirmed that these sentences hold Washington accountable for the “gruesome behavior.”
“The Defendant’s violence nearly killed this child. Despite his attempts to ignore the child’s symptoms and persuade the mother to have the child go to sleep that night, her decision to take him to the hospital saved his life,” stated Moga in the sentencing memorandum. The verdict in this case represents accountability for his gruesome behavior. Protecting children is what the community is tasked with, and I am thankful to the jury for reaching the proper conclusion and holding the defendant accountable in this case.”
In light of his assault, Washington will spend 121 months in prison. However, this was not Washington’s first conviction for violent crimes. Dating back to 2005, Washington has had multiple charges, including assault, kidnapping, strangulation constituting domestic violence, and a federal conviction for sex trafficking of children by force, fraud, or coercion.
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