Man charged with child abuse after he ‘beat young boy, 8, and threatened to feed him to alligators’
Dereck Dunn, 28, from Florida is alleged to have beaten boy with a belt while his mum was out shopping
A STEP-dad from Florida who allegedly threatened to feed an eight-year-old boy to alligators has been charged with child abuse.
Dereck Dunn, is not the boy’s father, but has children with his mother.
The eight-year-old’s mother and grandfather had left the boy and young sister at home with 28-year-old Dunn while they ran errands, according to the
Dunn is then said to have picked up the boy and took him to a pond behind their home where he threatened to feed the terrified youngster to alligators.
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After they returned to the house Dunn is also alleged to have pushed the boys face into the carpet until he couldn't breathe and hit him several times with a belt after he fled to a closet for safety.
The boy also claimed Dunn told him he would buy him a dress and tiara.
The boy's mother, Andrea Pritchard, told officials she’d seen Dunn smack her son on the buttocks with his hand.
When police were called they noted scars on the boy’s eye socket, arms, legs and buttocks but Dunn denied hitting him.
He also told police he was only joking when he threatened to feed the boy to alligators.
Dunn remains jailed on a $7,500 bond and has been ordered not to contact the boy. He is due to appear in court on September 26.
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