A Linton man is facing a charge of battery as a result of an LPD investigation into an incident on a church bus.

Jonathan David Bailey, 18, Linton, was arrested by Sgt. Bobby Pierce of the Linton Police Department on Tuesday, March 1.

Sgt. Pierce investigated the battery after a mother reported her 10-year-old daughter had been battered by an 18-year-old male. The mother didn’t know the male’s full name, but she knew where he lived. The suspect was later identified as Jonathan Bailey.

When Sgt. Pierce interviewed the juvenile victim along with the mother, he was told the juvenile was riding a church bus home from church when the incident occurred. The juvenile said she was sitting at the front of the bus, in front of Bailey, when Bailey grabbed the juvenile’s seatbelt and tightened it around her neck. She said he told her, “If you’re a sinner, shut up, and if you’re not, then still shut up.”

Sgt. Pierce reported the juvenile had visible redness and bruising on the neck. Photos were taken.

When Sgt. Pierce located and interviewed Bailey, Bailey allegedly admitted he did grab the seatbelt and pulled it tight but he claimed it was an accident. He said as he grabbed the seatbelt, the bus hit a bump in the road causing him to pull it tighter. Bailey allegedly claimed the kids tease each other all the time and he was just teasing. He also said he didn’t say anything to the juvenile when the seatbelt was pulled tight.

Bailey was taken into custody and transported to the sheriff’s department where he was booked into the Greene County Jail at 10:27 p.m. with bond set at $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He has since posted bond and been released.

Bailey is scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court on March 14 for his initial hearing on a charge of: Battery on a person less than 14 years old, a Level 6 felony.