Man accused of abusing 7-year-old, posting YouTube video, found not guilty

It didn't take an Orange County jury long to decide a man accused of abusing a 7-year-old boy he was mentoring wasn't guilty.

Devery Broox was charged with child abuse for allegedly shaving the boys head and eyebrows and hitting him with a belt in a YouTube video.

Broox's attorneys claimed he was just giving the boy tough love by shaving his head and eyebrows, then making him do a boot-camp-style workout.

• Raw Video: Man shaves boy's head, heard hitting child
• Raw Video: Broox talks to WFTV following not guilty verdict

After the boy's head was shaved, Broox walked the child into another room and investigators say he chose to take a belt to the boy off camera.

"What you crying for? This ain't doing nothing to you!" Broox said.

"Yes it do!" said the boy.

Prosecutors told the jury on Monday what's on the video is criminal.

It took a jury less than two hours of deliberations on Tuesday.

Broox was clearly relieved, even appearing to cry at one point after the verdict was read. He said afterward he's going to be more careful in the future with other people's children.

“This is literally the only kid I mentored that it went as far as corporal punishment, the only kid,” he said.

 He believes his stern tactics worked for the boy he was mentoring.

“It was worth it, all that I went through, if now he is truly in class and paying attention and not playing around,” said Broox.

The boy is now 8 years old.

Broox defended his actions, saying he had permission from the boy's  great-grandmother to discipline him.  Broox posted the video online himself.

Broox tried to explain why he posted the video on Youtube.

"I wanted to encourage people to become mentors. The problem is, [I] definitely went about it the wrong way," he said.

“Is there any part that you regret?” asked WFTVs Renee Stoll.

“The way I constructed the video,” replied Broox.

Broox said he has not mentored a child since this incident, but said now he'd like to start again with other children.

Previous Stories:

• Young victim defends accused attacker in YouTube video

• Cops: Man shaves boy's head on video, beats him with belt in other room