Yesterday, Florida investigators cleared Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard of the child abuse accusations levied against him in August by former Orlando Magic dancer Royce Reed, the mother of his son Braylon. With regards to the legal system, Howard is apparently in the clear.
However, in light of documents obtained by TMZ Sports, it's difficult to understand why exactly this is the case. According to these documents, the doctor responsible for examining Howard's son determined that Braylon had been struck with a belt buckle, in what was deemed to be an excessive manner. Howard admitted to the investigators that he had hit his child, citing the punishment as something he had experienced from his own parents when he was growing up.
The doctor found "soft tissue injuries such as brusing and abrasions" on Braylon, and characterized them as "consistent with a medical diagnosis of physical abuse." Strangely, the Department of Children and Families in Florida still ruled that the accusations against Howard were "not substantiated."
So, if you're keeping score at home, Howard was accused of child abuse, admitted to hitting his son, was determined to have abused his child by a licensed professional, but, somehow, wasn't charged with child abuse. What's going on here?
Unfortunately, it's not entirely certain that we're going to find out. According to Howard's reps, the case is now closed, and they're accusing Reed of using Braylon as a means to discredit Howard and "extract money" from him.
The battle between Howard and Reed is far from over, though. Currently, Howard and Reed are in the midst of a legal war to gain custody of Braylon. Stay tuned for more details on how this case develops.
[via TMZ Sports]
