A warrant was issued Friday for the arrest of a Linton man accused of battery on a child.

Kevin Donaldson, 49, Linton, is wanted on a preliminary charge of battery on a person less than 14 years of age, a Level 6 felony.

An incident that allegedly occurred on Friday, June 29, in the Linton area has been under investigation by Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy David Elmore.

Elmore first talked to a grandparent of the child who contacted the sheriff’s department to report the incident.

According to Elmore’s report, the grandparent said when the child was dropped off at their house not long after the incident, the child was shaking, visibly upset. When asked what was wrong, the child said Donaldson had come over to their parent’s residence and had grabbed their hand and squeezed it really hard.

When Elmore talked to the child, the child also told him Donaldson had come to his parent’s place with a fishing pole and was trying to get the child and parent to help untangle it. Then Donaldson reached out and grabbed the child’s hand and squeezed it while twisting the child’s arm. The child rated the level of pain as a 10 on a scale of one to 10 and said his hand hurt for about 40 minutes afterward.

When the parent was interviewed by Elmore, they explained they could smell vodka on Donaldson when he came over. They said Donaldson told the child to squeeze his hand and the child did but Donaldson reacted by saying that wasn’t a hard squeeze. He then squeezed the child’s hand so hard the child was crying and the parent told Donaldson to stop.

The parent also said he told Donaldson he was drunk and needed to go home.

Following the deputy’s investigation, the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office filed a criminal case against Donaldson in Greene Superior Court on Thursday. The warrant for his arrest was issued on Friday. As of early Tuesday, Donaldson was not in custody.