Lycoming Regional police have charged 36-year-old Rian Merrill, of 1434 Locust St., Jersey Shore, with simple assault, endangering the welfare of children and harassment after he allegedly smacked his 8-year-old son on April 13, 2026, according to court documents.

The alleged victim stated that, following baseball practice, Merrill instructed him to complete some house chores, after which he allegedly smacked the youth in the face several times as punishment for a comment he made to another teammate.

The left side of the alleged victim’s face displayed swelling and redness, police said in an affidavit.

Merrill allegedly admitted to smacking the child twice, stating that he did so after he had made remarks to another child during practice.

Originally, he was going to ground him from his video game system, however, when the alleged victim lied to Merrill about completing his chores, he lost control, Merrill allegedly told police, adding that although he couldn’t be sure how hard he struck the alleged victim, he gauged it to be around a seven out of ten.

Merrill was arraigned on the charges by District Judge Denise Dieter.