McComb Man Indicted On Eight Counts Of Child Abuse And Two Counts Of Abuse Of A Vulnerable Person

A man from McComb is charged with eight counts of felony child abuse and two counts of abuse of a vulnerable person after footage of him was discovered in which he was seen mercilessly beating a 5-year-old disabled girl.

23-year-old Alex Mead’s bond is set for $140,000. Mead was initially charged with 27 counts of felony child abuse by Pike County sheriff’s investigators, but the charges were later scaled back to 10.

McComb man, Alex Mead, charged with 27 counts of felony child abuse. pic.twitter.com/g45pbvPhVs

— Justin Vicory (@justinvicory) February 17, 2016

The arrest was quickly made after victim’s mother reported that Mead allegedly beat her daughter while he filmed the incidents on his cell phone. The victim’s mom told authorities that she discovered the video on Mead’s cell phone on February 9.

The team of investigators said that they found 27 recordings that allegedly showed Mead beating the child. The child was physically disabled and required special care.

According to court documents, the videos reportedly show Alex Mead punching and slapping the girl, choking her, pulling her hair, and biting her ear, MRC TV reported.

A video was obtained by the Clarion-Ledger that shows Mead slapping and punching the girl in the head asking her “How’d that feel, huh?” and “You’re not going to cry?”

At one point, he looks directly into the camera and say, “I’m an a**hole, I know.”

The girl required a breathing tube and used a wheelchair due to a rare brain disease.

“(Mead) is on eight counts of felony child abuse and two counts of abuse of a vulnerable person”, Chief Deputy Greg Martin said referring to the indictment.”

The indictment alleges that the abuse took place between January 27 and February 10 of this year.

The numbers in the child abuse statistics are worrying. Approximately five children die every day because of child abuse. What’s more scary is that 90 percent of the times victims of sexual abuse know the perpetrator, and 68 percent of the time, the offenders are someone from the family.

A study of childhood abuse facts shows that the youngest children are the most vulnerable when it comes to abuse. Over 25 percent of abused children are under the age of three while over 45 percent of abused children are under the age of 5.

In many of the cases, the maltreatment of the children even results in death. In 2012 alone, the number of children who died because of abuse was 1593.

The scariest fact for the children is that 80 percent of the child abuse offenders in 2012 were their parents. Both the sexes share a somewhat similar number of child abuse victims, while the study in 2012 child showed that 45.3 percent of the perpetrators were male while 53.5 percent were female.

In the United States alone, more than four children die from child abuse and neglect on a daily basis. Over 70 percent of these children are below the age of 3.

The effects of child abuse are immense. They trouble the victim throughout different stages of their lives.

Abused children show signs of depression and withdrawal from society. They are more likely to exhibit anti-social behaviors, including borderline personality disorders and violent behavior.

Child abuse victims placed in foster or kinship care because of abuse or neglect were found to score lower than other students in tests of cognitive capacity, language development, and academic achievement.

The teenagers who were abused in their childhood are 25 percent more likely to be involved in teenage pregnancy. A study showed that 80 percent of the teenage victims had to visit a psychiatrist by 21 for various disorders, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide attempts.

Childhood abuse also accounts for criminal behaviors in victims. Children who experience child abuse and neglect are 59 percent more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28 percent more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30 percent more likely to commit violence crime.

Adults who had to endure abuse and neglect in their embryonic days can often develop allergies, arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, high blood pressure, and ulcers, in addition to other physical disabilities because of poor health caused by the abuse.

The abused adults also can developmental issues like panic and dissociative disorders, attention deficit and/or hyperactivity disorder, depression, anger, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The abused adults also can develop dependencies to drugs and alcohol. A study found that as many as two-thirds of individuals in drug treatment programs reported being abused as children.

[Image via Pixabay]