Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Saturday, December 14, 2024 74° Today's Paper


Top News

California man arrested after video shows belting stepson

EL CENTRO, Calif. >> A California water agency director has been arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse after a neighbor shot and posted online video of him whipping his stepson with a belt after he failed to catch a baseball.

Sheriff’s Lt. Scott Sheppeard tells the Imperial Valley Press that 34-year-old Imperial Irrigation District Director Anthony Sanchez was arrested Friday. He’s being held on $100,000 bail.

Neighbor Oscar Lopez secretly shot the video Wednesday from inside his house. It shows the boy dropping the baseball, then Sanchez hitting him with the belt before Lopez starts shouting to stop. Lopez says he posted the video on Facebook and YouTube then gave it to authorities.

Sanchez attorney Ryan Childers acknowledges the video is disturbing, but urged people to wait until details were revealed before reaching conclusions.

Comments are closed.