Montco man convicted of beating foster children

A foster father was convicted Monday of beating two children in his Glenside home in 2013.

Claybon Hawthorne was convicted of aggravated assault and other charges for beating two children, ages 11 and 12.

Hawthorne beat the children with a broom and a belt in April 2013, said Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden. One of the children, his 12-year-old foster child, was beaten until he needed 18 stitches on his cheek. Hawthonre also beat an 11-year-old girl - one of several children, including adopted and foster children, living in the Glenside home.

Hawthorne's wife told the police at the time that the boy had purchased an iPhone with her credit card, and the beating was punishment.

Montgomery County Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy convicted Hawthorne at a brief bench trial on Monday.

Hawthorne, 50, who now lives in Philadelphia, was ordered to have no contact with the children as a condition of his bail while he awaits sentencing.

His wife, Renee Fennell Hawthorne, was also charged with terroristic threats and endangering the welfare of a child for the 2013 incident. She has since died, Feden said.

- Laura McCrystal