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VIKINGS
Adrian Peterson

Report: Adrian Peterson previously accused of injuring another son

Jeremy Rogalski
KHOU 11 News
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has been accused of injuring a second son.

HOUSTON — Photos and text messages obtained by the I-Team reveal another incident in which Adrian Peterson is accused of injuring another son while disciplining the boy.

The 4-year-old is by a different mother than the alleged victim in the Montgomery County case, in which Peterson is charged with felony injury to a child. In that case, Peterson admits to repeatedly striking the boy with a tree branch or "switch," but has maintained he did not intend to harm the child, and was using his judgment as a parent to discipline his son.

The latest incident allegedly occurred last June, while the boy, who lives out of state, was visiting Peterson at his gated home in Spring. A photo, allegedly texted by Peterson to the boy's mother, shows a head wound to the boy covered by two bandages. Other photos, allegedly taken weeks later, reveal a scar over his right eye.

The text messages also describe an exchange about what happened. They contain numerous misspellings and shorthand:

Mother: "What happened to his head?"

Peterson: "Hit his head on the Carseat."

Mother: "How does that happen, he got a whoopin in the car."

Peterson: "Yep."

Mother: "Why?"

Peterson: "I felt so bad. But he did it his self."

The text messages go on to show Peterson saying he was disciplining his son for cussing to a sibling.

"It's absolutely criminal," said Randy Burton, a former chief prosecutor of family crimes in Harris County, and founder of the advocacy group Justice for Children. "You break the skin, you have bleeding, much less permanent scars, that is a crime."

But no charges were ever filed. Sources confirm the mother filed a report with Child Protective Services, but the outcome of any CPS investigation is unclear.

So is the method of the delivering the wound, according to the text messages.

Mother: "What did you hit him with?"

Peter never directly answered, but later replied: "Be still n take ya whooping he would have saved the scare (scar). He aight (all right)"

"This is very damaging information," Burton said.

Damaging, Burton said, because prosecutors in Montgomery County can use it as evidence in the felony case against Peterson.

"To prove intent, that it was not an accident, and to show that it was a course of conduct," Burton said. "It wasn't a one-off."

Peterson's attorney Rusty Hardin said that Peterson had done nothing wrong.

"The allegation of another investigation into Adrian Peterson is simply not true," Hardin said in a statement. "This is not a new allegation, it's one that is unsubstantiated and was shopped around to authorities in two states over a year ago and nothing came of it. An adult witness adamantly insists Adrian did nothing inappropriate with his son. There is no ongoing or new investigation."

The Vikings said they already were aware of the allegation.

"As part of the information we have gathered throughout this process, we were made aware of an allegation from 2013 in which authorities took no action against Adrian," the team said in a statement. "We will defer any further questions to Adrian's attorney Rusty Hardin."

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