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Lebanon man accused of choking child

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A Lebanon man is accused of choking and hitting a child because he believed the child had stolen money from him. Joshua Lee Cox, 33, of Lebanon, has been charged with abuse or neglect of a child, a class D felony. A summons has been mailed to Cox. His initial court arraignment is scheduled for June 17, according to court records. A Laclede County deputy spoke with the child’s mother on May 9. The mother had not witnessed the alleged attack, but a deputy noted that the child, who is under the age of 10, had a large bump on his forehead, a scratch on his cheek, redness on the back of his neck and a small bruise on the bottom of his back. The child told the deputy that Cox pinned him on a bed, choked his neck and hit him in the head. A resident of the home told the deputy that he had to physically pull Cox off of the child. Cox allegedly told the child’s parents that he believed the child had taken $100 from him.