A Slidell man who knew his girlfriend’s 6-year-old son was scared of heights stranded the boy on the couple’s roof as punishment for not finishing his dinner, authorities said.

William Entrekin, 21, of 2502 Robin St. Slidell, and the boy’s mother, whose identity is being withheld to protect the child, were each arrested and booked Nov. 11 with cruelty to a juvenile, a felony that carries up to 10 years in prison with or without hard labor if convicted.

Entrekin also notched a second charge for second-degree cruelty because he also hit the child with a belt, made him perform squats with a handful of bricks, swung him around by the ankles and pinched him until he bruised, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Capt. George Bonnett said.

william entrekin

Second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, a charge with an enhanced penalty of up to 40 years if convicted, constitutes bodily harm such as the bruises and cut marks from holding the bricks and genitalia bruises, Bonnett said.

Entrekin remained in parish jail Tuesday in lieu of a $50,000 bond. The mother also was still in jail Tuesday in lieu of $15,000 bond, Bonnett said.

Facts about the incidents emerged several days after they occurred, on Nov. 10, when the mother dropped off the boy at his grandmother’s house. The boy’s great-grandmother was also home and noticed the cuts and bruises on his hands. When asked what happened, Bonnett said the mother admitted the child was holding the bricks as punishment. When the great-grandmother asked if that was abuse, the mother said, “’No,’ and slammed the door” on her way out, according to the arrest report.

The next day the boy’s teacher noticed cuts and bruises on the boy’s hands and arms. When questioned the boy confessed that his mother’s boyfriend was the culprit, Bonnett said. School authorities contacted the Sheriff’s Office.

The boy was taken to St. Tammany Parish Hospital for treatment, where the Office of Child Services interviewed the child. Meanwhile, deputies went to the mother’s house to investigate and knocked repeatedly, but nobody answered.

Believing someone was home but refused the answer the door, deputies obtained a search warrant and returned the next day.

Again nobody answered the door, Bonnett said. Deputies then “forced their way” into the house and found the couple in the back bedroom, ordering them down on the ground.

Entrekin didn’t comply, Bonnett said, instead lunging for a drawer in an entertainment center despite repeated orders to stop.

He was then shocked with a Taser and “immediately began complying,” Bonnett said.

This month’s arrest isn’t the first for Entrekin. On Sept. 5, 2007, he was accused of robbing the shed of a neighbor’s home in Slidell, stealing exotic beers and energy drinks out of a refrigerator unit before setting the shed on fire, Bonnett said.

Deputies who searched Entrekin’s home found the drinks in a refrigerator, Bonnett said.

He was charged with aggravated arson, theft and criminal damage to property. The status of that case was unknown at press time.