A Florida mother was arrested and charged over a video that allegedly showed her hitting her young son because he unbuckled his car seat.
Pamela Gladys Gaensel, 47, was arrested Wednesday and charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, NBC Miami reported.
She appeared in court Thursday, where prosecutors alleged she was caught on camera slapping her six-year-old son hard enough to leave him bruised, the outlet continued.
Gaensel was seen pulling the boy out of her car by his hair Tuesday before throwing him to the sidewalk and then throwing the booster seat at him, prosecutors said, according to WESH.
Surveillance cameras apparently captured audible slapping sounds as Gaensel put the boy back in the car before dragging him away again, the outlet explained.
She was then allegedly seen throwing objects over her son’s head and into a nearby yard, only for the boy to go retrieve them himself.
Pamela Gladys Gaensel was arrested Wednesday. Broward Sheriff’s Office
The boy was crying and begging his mother to stop during the ordeal, NBC Miami said.
Gaensel’s two other children, ages 7 and 3, were inside the van during the alleged beating, WSVN added.
Police were alerted by an unidentified caller, which led them to visit Gaensel’s son at school, where they observed marks on his body, the outlet said.
Gaensel was later detained by officers when she was going to pick up the child from school.
Pamela Gladys Gaensel appeared in court and was released on $5,000 bail.
She later told police she was disciplining her son after he unlatched his car seat.
“When authorities examined the child and saw that he had marks on his back from being slapped, marks and bruises on the child’s face, arms and palms,” Assistant State’s Attorney Eric Linder told the outlet.
“Ms. Gaensel stated that this was essentially an act of discipline, noting that she only spanked the child,” he continued.
The boy was yelling at his mother to stop as she hit him, prosecutors said.
“I imagine that Ms. Gaensel did not realize, and this also refers to the strength of the evidence, that there appears to be a private homeowner, an individual who had closed-circuit cameras. [that] “He recorded the entire incident.”
Gaensel was released on $5,000 bail, WSVN noted.
His three children are now in the care of their father.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn