Mass. trooper accused of punching child, instructing cover

A Massachusetts State Police trooper has been accused assaulting a young child, according to the Plympton Police Department.

State Trooper Michael Gagnon, of Plympton, was arrested on Nov. 25, the department said. He faces charges of domestic assault and battery and aggravated assault on a child under the age of 14.

His arrest followed an investigation by the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and the Plympton Police Department.

Gagnon was taken into custody at his home in Plympton just before 6 p.m. on Nov. 25, then was booked and held at the Plympton Police Department, police said.

The child had told a DCF caseworker that Gagnon punched them in the face in the late summer and said Gagnon told the them to “say that a whiffle ball