Social media helps police track down and arrest Michigan man, who violently beat, threw down a child
If you or anyone you know suspects child abuse, you are urged to immediately call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
PONTIAC, MICHIGAN: The Oakland County Sheriff’s office has reportedly detained a man after a TikTok video showed him aggressively hitting a child under the age of five. The video posted on the social media platform was emailed to the police department by a concerned citizen on October 14, Friday.
John Wesley Hanley III was found striking the child in the cheeks and then knocking him to the ground in the reel. Investigators quickly located the place in the video near the 1200 block of Perry Street in Pontiac with the help of the TikTok video and surveillance footage. The Flint resident can be seen verbally disciplining a child for kicking dirt while waiting in line for a food truck. Seconds later, the male suspect was spotted dragging the child out of the line by the arm through the parking lot before beating him, cops told WDIV.
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The man, identified as 25-year-old John Wesley Hanley III, can be seen verbally disciplining the child — who is under the age of 5 — for kicking dirt while standing in line for a food truck, cops said. https://t.co/lZlbifGsqL
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CCTV cameras and social media helped the cops determine the identity of the 25-year-old who was taken into custody on the very day of the incident. A welfare check for the child involved was issued to determine his health status after the apparent abuse, as per officials.
"The actions depicted in this video are abhorrent. Seeing a grown man, strike a toddler in the face, decking him to the ground is extremely disturbing. Violence of this nature, especially when it involves children, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I am proud of the investigative team for their diligence in bringing swift justice in this case. I want to thank the person(s) for bringing this TikTok video to our attention and encourage others to do the same if they witness criminal acts on any social media platform," said Oakland County Sheriff Micheal Bouchard in a statement, according to the outlet.
The relationship between the suspect and the child was still not revealed by authorities at the time of writing. Hanley appeared in court where he has been charged with one count of fourth-degree child abuse. He was prosecuted on Saturday, October 15, in the 50th District Court where a personal bond was set at $20,000.
