A New Mexico grand jury has indicted a man on child abuse, battery, and assault charges for allegedly breaking a beer bottle over an 8-year-old girl’s head and then slicing her neck with a shard.
Investigators say that the little girl was looking at a waterfall at an Albuquerque pizza restaurant when Nichalas San Souci, 24, broke the bottle over her head and sliced her neck, according to the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office. San Souci did not know the girl or her family. She was seriously injured and required 19 stitches.
The incident took place at Saggio’s, a popular eatery, on April 25, KOAT reported. The girl’s father, Britton Rose, told the station that his family arrived and saw “a pretty long line, so we knew it was going to be a while before we were able to order and sit down and eat.”
While they waited, the girl’s mother took their daughter around to look at murals and other decorations in the restaurant.
“That’s when I heard my wife from across the restaurant yelling, ‘No, no, stop,’” Rose said. “Then I knew something was going on with my family.”
Court documents say that San Souci claimed the girl was “in his way” before he attacked, although he did not explain why he thought that a violent attack on an 8-year-old girl was appropriate.
“She did nothing, my daughter did nothing to provoke this attack in any way,” Rose said.
An off-duty paramedic and an intensive care nurse were among the witnesses who rushed to help, keeping the girl calm until first responders reached the scene.
San Souci appeared in court on Monday, where he entered not guilty pleas to child abuse resulting in great bodily harm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was denied bond.
“It’s anger,” said Rose. “But at the same time, I’m happy he’s being held behind bars. The DA has made it clear they’re taking the case very seriously.”
Rose said the four lacerations on the girl’s neck missed major arteries, and that he considers the family “extremely lucky our daughter wasn’t hurt worse or even killed, because that’s what we feel he was trying to do.”
