Surveillance footage out of Miami, Florida appears to show a man pulling on a teen girl’s hair, whipping her with his belt, striking her in the face, apparently telling her to sit in a corner, and chewing her out as she apparently cries. He’s been identified as a local cop, and the girl as his 14-year-old daughter. An arrest report obtained by The Miami Herald said the incident happened March 19 at the Pinecrest Cove Preparatory Academy. It allegedly occurred after the daughter “disrespected her teacher.” The girl “stated she did not sustain any visible injuries and/or bruises” from the beating.
Miami-Dade police officer Raymond Rosario, who is alleged to be the man in the video, was arrested and booked on a felony child abuse charge. He was also suspended from his job with pay pending an investigation into the matter.
Miami-Dade court records obtained by Law&Crime show Rosario was arrested on April 2nd. His attorney Eric C. Padrón told Law&Crime in a phone interview that his client pleaded not guilty, and the case is going to trial. He would not provide further comment.
The soundless footage does not apparently show school employees intervening in the beating, though as reported by ABC13, they did end up telling the Florida Department of Children of Families about this. As seen on the video, at least two women witnessed the abuse, though both seem to have their heads turned when the man struck the girl. One woman, seen in the bottom of the video, is looking off-camera when it happened. The other woman, who is sitting right by the man and girl, was apparently looking at something that the man had been pointing at. When she turned to look, that’s when the man struck the girl.
Pinecrest Cove Preparatory Academy did not immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for comment regarding their point-of-view on this incident, and regarding how employees are trained to address instances of child abuse by parents.
Update – May 14, 7:00 p.m.: Rosario’s attorney responded to a Law&Crime request for comment, and the article has been updated accordingly.
[Screengrab via Pinecrest Cove Preparatory Academy]