Dad Accused of Tossing Son Overboard Won't Be Tried in Veterans Court

An Irvine dad charged with throwing his 7-year-old son off a sightseeing boat in Newport Harbor has been denied entrance to a court program dedicated to combat veterans.

Sloan Steven Briles, 35, appeared before Judge Wendy S. Lindley on Tuesday afternoon at Veterans Court in Santa Ana. Briles is facing charges of felony child abuse and endangerment and misdemeanor resisting a police officer.

He in September, and Lindley was considering his .

"Unfortunately we are not going to accept you into Veterans Court," Lindley told Briles. "Your case will be heard in criminal court. I wish you all the luck with that."

No reason for the decision was made public. Prosecutor Cyril Yu said such matters are confidential. "It's just the nature of how Veterans Court works," Yu explained. "The evaluations are to be kept private."

Briles is now scheduled to appear at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on Jan. 9 for a pretrial hearing.

The charges stem from an Aug. 28 incident in which Briles was on a Newport Beach cruise with his girlfriend and two young sons. He is accused of being drunk and poking his 7-year-old son in the chest and slapping him in the face. 

Prosecutors said Briles then threw the boy over the side of the boat. The first mate stalled the craft and maneuvered it to protect the child from being struck by another vessel and the captain threw the boy a life ring.

Since the incident, Briles has professed his innocence, saying he and his son were roughhousing.