BELCHERTOWN — A South Hadley man on Monday denied pouring a hot bowl of soup over the head of a 10-year-old boy with whom he was dining at a restaurant in September.
Jason Laflamme, 39, pleaded not guilty to an assault and battery charge in Eastern Hampshire District Court to the incident and is expected to return to court in January.
The boy was not physically injured, though an ambulance had been called to the Parthenon Restaurant on Newton Street in South Hadley as a precaution, according to police.
South Hadley Police were called to the restaurant around 7:30 pm. on Sept. 12 after an employee saw Laflamme intentionally pour an entire bowl of hot soup over the head of the child, according to police.
When the employee called police, Laflamme briefly hid in the restaurant before leaving before police arrived, police said.
Police said the child’s mother and the 10-year-old were found sitting in a truck in a parking lot behind the restaurant.
The mother, police said, “down played” the incident saying the soup was not hot and the child was not injured. A waitress told police she had just taken the soup off the burner before bringing it to the table, court records state.
Police interviewed the child following the incident. The boy admitted to misbehaving and said he “kind of” told Laflamme to pour the soup on him not thinking Laflamme would actually do it, according to police.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.