Video captures alleged assault of young girl by step-father
By Tony Atkins, LeeAnn Huntoon
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SANFORD, Florida (WESH) — A man was captured on video allegedly assaulting his young stepdaughter in Sanford, prompting intervention from the child’s aunt and leading to an investigation by state authorities.
The video shows the man grabbing and slamming the girl against a car, and later striking her again near a garage door. The family identified the man as the girl’s stepfather and said the incident occurred during a visit to a relative’s home. As of Tuesday, the man had not been charged.
Leondra Chapman, the girl’s aunt, confronted the man in the video.
“I have to leave my job to make sure you’re not putting your hands on my nieces!”
Chapman said. She also questioned the number of times the Department of Children and Families (DCF) had been called due to his actions. “You’ve had DCF called how many times? How many times? How many times you’re going to beat them?” she said in the video.
Chapman described her reaction to seeing the video.
“I seen it and had a whole panic attack. I couldn’t believe what I was watching,” she said, emphasizing the need to protect the children.
“These kids need to see that this isn’t ok and we’re not going to allow this. These are going to be our future leaders at this point.”
Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said the department was notified about the incident two hours after it happened, after the family had already left the area.
“The Sanford Police Department received notification about this incident two hours after it occurred, and after the family had already left the area,” Smith said in a statement. “Had the family been on scene when officers arrived, an immediate arrest could have been made.”
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