STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- A Wal-Mart shopper who became so angry about a crying child that he allegedly slapped the girl in the face appeared in court Wednesday.

Investigators said the incident happened Monday at the Stone Mountain store on Rockbridge Road.

A police report said the man, Roger Stephens, 61, of Stone Mountain, had warned the child’s mother, Sonya Mathews, that if she didn’t quiet down the child, he would do it for her.

According to the report, after the mother failed to quiet the girl, Stephens came up to them and slapped the child several times in the face.

The report then quotes Stephens as saying, “See, I told you I would shut her up.”

Mathews then screamed at Stephens and called for security, the report said. Stephens was stopped by another shopper, according to the report.

The girl, identified in the report as Paige Mathews, 2, was not injured, but did suffer some redness in the face. She was treated at the scene and released, the report said.

CBS Atlanta spoke with Mathews by phone Wednesday morning.

She said she forgives the man who slapped her daughter and says he must have mental issues.

Delsey Morone said she'd be the top story at 6 p.m. if someone put his hands on her child.

"I would definitely defend my child. It probably would have turned into an altercation between us both," said Morone.

Stephens was charged with cruelty with children in the first degree, which is a felony. He is being held in the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond.