Man Sentenced to Probation for Kicking Child in Front of Four Witnesses

At the end of September, Morgan Simeon Prows, 38, was sentenced to 18 months of probation in a plea deal for his child abuse case. 

On January 10, Gainesville Police Department officers arrested Prows and charged him with child abuse. Prows and the victim were at Westside Park when multiple witnesses observed him standing over the child and yelling at the 11-year-old to not call him “bro.” The witnesses said Prows aggressively kicked the sides of the victim’s body to keep him on the ground. 

Ofc. Flavio Escobar reported, “It is to note, [Prows] was seen by WIT's 1-4 to have acted in a manner that a reasonable parent would not have engaged in with damaging acts toward the child for a non valid reason. After the kicking, [Prows] directed the victim to sit on a playground obstacle and stated in the presence of the [witnesses] that the surrounding adults were getting involved and were going to call police and DCF because of the victim.”

Prows denied hitting the victim and reportedly “stated he had not physically disciplined the victim in several years."

Prows was released after posting a $10,000 bond set by Judge Donna Keim. 

On September 29, Prows pleaded no contest to child abuse and was convicted, pursuant to an agreement with the Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office. Judge James Colaw accepted the agreement, withholding a formal conviction and imposing an 18-month probation sentence. 

As part of his probation, Prows is required take a parenting class. He'll also have to undergo anger management and a mental health evaluation.

Court records indicate that SAO8 cited the victim not wanting the case to be prosecuted as grounds for the plea deal.

From 2008-2009, Prows served an 18-month prison sentence for grand theft auto.