A Clarke County grand jury this week indicted a man on charges he assaulted a 12-year-old boy in a north Athens mobile home park in January.
Gary Gordon Scales, 36, was charged with first-degree cruelty to children and two counts of battery, according to the indictment filed Tuesday in Clarke County Superior Court.
Scales caused the boy “cruel and excessive physical and mental pain” when he grabbed him by the throat and threw him against a wall, according to the indictment.