WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A Wichita Falls man pleads guilty to child abuse in a confusing incident in which the victim said his father got angry when he told his son to stab him, and he refused to do it.

John Lee Leatherwood, 53, was sentenced to 6 months in jail in the plea deal on Thursday, May 18, 2023, in 89th District Court, for injury to a child. He was credited with 180 days of time served between February and August 2021 spent in the Wichita County Jail.

Leatherwood was scheduled to appear in the 89th District Court on Thursday for a pre-trial hearing ahead of a jury trial.

However, on April 24, 2023, the victim filed an affidavit of non-prosecution, stating he did intend to pursue the prosecution of Leatherwood and wished that all charges in relation to the matter be dismissed.

Leatherwood was arrested in February 2021 while walking away from a home on Merry Lane. According to police, he admitted that he was intoxicated.

The victim, who was 12 years old at the time, told officers he was lying on his bed playing a video game when Leatherwood came in the room and told him to stab him in the back.

Police said when the victim said he would not stab him, Leatherwood became angry and hit him in the face. The boy told officers Leatherwood hit him once again and then left.