Sloane Briles Denies Throwing Son Overboard in Newport Harbor

A 35-year-old Irvine man accused of throwing his 7-year-old son off a sight-seeing boat in Newport Harbor defended himself today in a round of television interviews, saying he and his son were just "screwing around.''

"Honestly, what it was was just boys roughhousing and then screwing
around and then jumping off the edge of the boat,'' Sloane Briles told the syndicated show "Inside Edition.''

Passengers aboard the boat had a different story. They told officials with the Orange County Sheriff's Department that the man threw his crying 7-year-old son overboard during an argument.

"The father hit him several times and then threatened to throw him overboard if he didn't stop crying," said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino. "The crowd on the boat became very angry at the father for hitting the kid and extremely angry when he threw him overboard."

Briles denied those reports.

"We were just screwing around, just showing off, just being guys,'' he said. "It's not like I threw him off. We went together. It was just like a hand-in-hand thing.'

"There was no hitting, there was no striking of any kind, no anger whatsoever,'' Briles told KCAL9. "I put him over the edge, and then he jumped and I went in right after him. I don't know where the 'anger' came from because we were having a pretty good harbor cruise.''

Amormino said witnesses had an entirely different account of what happened.

"According to several witnesses, the boy was crying, he told him to
stop crying and he repeatedly slapped him in the face with an open hand,'' Amormino said.

Others aboard the boat were so offended they began advancing toward Briles to stop him, Amormino said.

"He said, `If you don't stop crying, I'll throw you overboard,' '' Amormino said Briles told his son.

Amormino questioned why Briles struggled with sheriff's deputies if he
was only engaged in horseplay with his son.

"Why did he become combative toward deputies?'' Amormino asked. "He was obnoxious, he was intoxicated. People on the boat said he had been a problem on the boat for the entire sightseeing tour. He was using foul language.''

Briles was arrested just after 2 p.m. Sunday on the Pavillion Queen, on
suspicion of child endangerment and resisting arrest, Amormino said. He was aboard with the boat with his 6- and 7-year-old sons and his girlfriend when the two adults started arguing, Amormino said.

After the boy went overboard, other boaters in the area rescued him,
Amormino said, adding the boy was not wearing a life jacket. It was fortunate the boy was not run over by one of the passing boats because it's a high-traffic area, Amormino said.

The boys' mother, Christin A. Briles, said the children told her the
accounts from witnesses were accurate, according to the woman's attorney, Eric Dubin.

"Because the boys' mom was not on the boat, she is extremely grateful to the eyewitnesses who called 911 immediately,'' Dubin said.

Court records show that Christin A. Briles divorced Sloane Briles in 2007.

The mother released the following statement through her attorney:

"While the witnesses could not prevent what occurred, at least their reports will help get full accountability. From what I have read, the eyewitness reports absolutely confirm what my two boys told me happened on the boat.''

Sloane Briles, who posted bail after his arrest and has not been
charged, pleaded guilty in January to misdemeanor public intoxication,
according to court records. He faced the same charge in 2007, but it was dismissed, according to court records.