A Flint, Michigan mother and two others were jailed for viciously beating her 11-year-old son and posting the video to Facebook.
The child’s mother, 28-year-old Demitria Powell, was charged with third degree child abuse, conspiracy to commit child abuse in the third degree, and third degree child abuse committed in the presence of another child. Her accomplices Uteas Taylor, 42, and Stefan Felton, 40, were also charged for the same offenses.
The child was accused of making false statements on his Facebook page. He was reportedly disciplined for acting like a “thug.” In the six-minute clip, the boy was struck across the face and beaten on his torso over 50 times with a belt. Taylor, who was present during the taping, is the child’s godmother. Felton, Taylor’s boyfriend, filmed the clip and mentions in the video that he was incarcerated for 10 years. The boy was forced to hold onto the arm of a dining room chair while the beating occurred.
“Throughout the beating, the adults admonished the child for his behavior and warnings were given that he not get involved with gang activity,” the arrest statement read. “Near the end of the video, the child was in obvious pain and he was squirming while being struck and still forced to hold onto the arms of the chair.”
At the end of the clip, the boy was forced to reveal his name and age to the camera. The clip was posted to his personal Facebook page as part of his punishment.
“The adults in this case clearly went beyond what is a reasonable level of ‘parental discipline,’” Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said. “What the video in this case reveals is a group of adults whose actions were a criminal assault against a child and that behavior cannot be condoned nor allowed under the law.” Police were summoned to the home after numerous concerns were reported as the video made its way across Facebook.
Bond was set at $7,500 for Powell, and at $8,500 for Taylor and Felton. Their next court date was not immediately scheduled. The investigation is ongoing.
[Image: Shutterstock]