Muldrow man charged with felony child abuse by injury

An arrest warrant has been issued for a Muldrow man accused of felony child abuse by injury after he allegedly used unreasonable force on a child under the age of 16, whipping the child with broken trash grabbers.

Aaron D. Wilborn, 40, was charged Feb. 8 in Sequoyah County District Court and a warrant was issued for his arrest the same day, according to court records.

Muldrow Police Sgt. Riley Brooks reported on Jan. 26 he spoke with the reporting party who told him they’d received a call the child had been in some type of alleged physical altercation, along with one of the child’s friends. The reporting party said both children allegedly had marks on them from the same person, Wilborn, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The reporting party said Wilborn had been staying at the home as a roommate but after the alleged incident, he wouldn’t be after that day. Brooks and other officers tried to contact Wilborn at the residence but he was not found. Brooks reported the residence was not in good living conditions, there were holes in the floor and no other furniture except mattresses directly on the floor.

Later that evening, officers returned to the residence where they found a cleanup underway and tried to secure the broken trash grabbers, but they were not located.

Wilborn, who was then found to be in the Muldrow Jail on other unrelated charges, agreed to speak with Brooks without an attorney present. When asked about the alleged incident with the two children, he said the two “flipped out on him” and one of them wanted to get physical. He claimed he didn’t hit the two children and he took the trash grabbers, throwing them on the ground.

When Brooks asked if there was a chance he might have accidentally hit the children, he said he didn’t know but it could have possibly happened after one of the children allegedly kicked him.

The two children were later interviewed along with the reporting party. The reporting party said the child was scratched by a dog and felt it was an accident, according to the affidavit. One of the children said after getting into an argument in the kitchen, the child went outside and grabbed a broken trash grabber for their protection. The child said the only parts remaining were the handle and a wire around 12 to 14 inches long, and that Wilborn took the object and hit the child with it. The child said they then left the residence.

Brooks reported he then turned the information over to the District Attorney’s office for review.

If found guilty of the crime, District Attorney Jack Thorp said it is punishable by imprisonment in the custody in the Department of Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, or both fine and imprisonment.