A Texas-based US Army sergeant is facing a felony charge after police say he was captured on video savagely beating a 3-year-old boy who did not want to practice his ABCs. Investigators allege the soldier, identified as 29-year-old Sgt. Paul Thames, admitted to striking the toddler repeatedly as a form of punishment tied to the child’s reluctance to work on letters. The case has stunned residents in Waco and raised fresh questions about how such extreme violence against a preschooler could unfold in a residential neighborhood before anyone intervened.
Alleged assault captured on camera and detailed in affidavits
According to investigators, the violence came to light after a home security device recorded a prolonged attack on the 3-year-old outside a Waco apartment. Police say the footage, taken from a Ring doorbell camera, shows a man later identified as Sgt. Paul Thames striking the child multiple times while the boy screams in pain, a sequence that authorities have described as a “savage beating” in charging documents. In one account, officers said the soldier told them he was angry because the boy refused to work on his ABCs, a detail that has been cited in an affidavit and echoed in a report that the US Army sergeant “caught viciously beating” the child admitted he was punishing the boy for not practicing letters, according to police.
Affidavits cited by local outlets state that the soldier is stationed at Fort Hood and that the incident unfolded in Waco, where the toddler lives. One sworn statement describes how a Fort Hood soldier beat a Waco toddler because the child did not want to work on his ABCs, detailing blows to the child’s body and the sound of repeated impacts that investigators say are audible on the recording. The warrant narrative, which refers to the suspect as a Fort Hood soldier, outlines how the man allegedly struck the boy on the head and back while demanding compliance, an account that aligns with a report that a Fort Hood soldier beat the Waco toddler for resisting the lesson.
From Ring footage to arrest of Sgt. Paul Thames
Authorities say the Ring video did not just document the beating, it also captured the suspect’s voice as he berated the child. In the recording, Thames can reportedly be heard asking the boy, “Are you going to stop playing?” while the child cries, a phrase that appears in multiple accounts of the footage. One detailed summary notes that during the video the boy can be heard crying in pain as Thames repeats the question, “Are you going to stop playing?”, language that investigators say underscores the punitive nature of the assault and the link to the child’s refusal to focus on his ABCs, according to a warrant described by According to the affidavit.
Investigators say Thames later acknowledged to police that he beat the boy because the child refused to practice letters, a statement that has been cited in multiple summaries of the case. One report notes that during questioning Thames told officers he had been trying to get the child to work on his ABCs and became enraged when the boy wanted to keep playing, while another recounts that in the video Thames can be heard asking, “Are you going to stop playing?” as the child sobs. Those details appear in a description of a Texas-based US Army sergeant who admitted beating a 3-year-old boy who refused to work on his ABCs, where the account notes that TOI World Desk and In the account both highlight Thames’s alleged admission.
Military status, community reaction, and child protection concerns
Officials have confirmed that Thames is an active-duty member of the US Army. In an emailed statement referenced in regional coverage, a spokesperson with the 1st Cavalry Division confirmed that Thames is a sergeant stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and indicated that the command is aware of the civilian criminal case. That confirmation, which identifies the unit as the Cavalry Division and the base as Fort Hood, Texas, underscores that the accused is not only a local resident but also a serving soldier, a fact that has drawn scrutiny to how the military monitors off-duty conduct and supports families, according to a statement cited by Cavalry Division officials.
Local coverage has shown how the case rippled through Waco and the broader Texas community as more details emerged. One television segment described learning more about the brutal beating of a three-year-old boy at the hands of a Fort Hood sergeant, highlighting the shock among residents as they heard that a soldier based at Fort Hood was accused of such violence against a toddler, a reaction captured in a video report that referenced Fort Hood repeatedly. Another station reported that Waco Police identified 29-year-old Paul Thames as the man seen in the Ring doorbell footage allegedly beating the child, noting that officers said the suspect was booked into the McLennan County Jail after the video surfaced, a sequence summarized in a piece where Waco Police linked Thames to the Ring recording.
More from Decluttering Mom: