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| Demetria Powell is seen on a video she posted to Facebook grabbing the jacket of her 11-year-old soon. She also slaps him in the face in the video |
The Michigan grandmother and mother of an 11-year-old boy have been charged with child abuse after a video was posted on Facebook showing the child being slapped in the face and beaten more than 50 times with a belt.
Demitria Latrion Powell, 28, the boy's mother and Uteas Michelle Taylor, 42, the boy's grandmother, both of Flint, were charged today third-degree child abuse. Stefon Tirrell Felton, 39, also of Flint, who filmed the video, was also charged with child abuse. He says in the video he was locked up for 10 years.
Demitria Powell, the boy's mother, Stefan Felton and Uteas Taylor have all been charged with third-degree child abuse
In Michigan, all child abuse charges are considered felonies.
The six-minute video, which also shows the boy getting hit in the face by his mother, was shared more than 1,000 times before it was removed from the social media site.
In the video, the boy is asked to his name. When he doesn't say it loud enough, Powell violently slaps him in the face, and then says, 'Say it like you got sense.' She then adds, 'Now it's going on Facebook so keep it in mind.
The boy is warned not to get involved in gang activity. NBC25 also reported that the boy was being punished for putting false statements on his own Facebook page.
His mother then says, 'Now grandma is going to get in there. i'm out of it.' After a few more second, shje adds, 'Call [Child Protective Services] if you want to. Watch this ass whipping this gangster is going to get.'
In the background, Taylor can be heard saying 'I've been waiting all day for this.' She then proceeeds to repeatedly hits the boy with a belt. At one point, she hits him so hard in the back of his legs, his legs start to buckle and he winces in pain.
'The adults in this case clearly went beyond what is a reasonable level of ‘parental discipline,' said Gennessee County Prosecutor David Leyton. '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.'
Uteas Taylor, the boy's grandmother, repeatedly whips the boys legs with a belt as he winces in pain
The neighborhood on the east side of Flint where the video was allegedly filmed
The posting of the video online is also what alerted authorities.
'That’s why the police department has gotten into it also,' Flint Police Department spokesman Collin Birnie said. 'We have our own Facebook page now which helped us in this particular case.'
Credit: Daily Mail
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