ORLANDO, Fla.,None — An Orange County mentor is on trial for a young boy's shaving, beating and workout. But Tuesday, the young victim defended his accused attacker.
And the defendant, Devery Broox, defended the discipline. Broox said he had permission from the great-grandmother to shave the boy's head if he acted up because the boy's head had been shaved before for a medical condition and he didn't like it.
That was just one of the explanations he gave for the video of discipline posted online.
Jurors also heard that Broox wasn't the only one who disciplined the boy for misbehaving in school.
"He spanked me," the boy said.
The 8-year-old boy at the center of Devery Broox's child abuse trial was barely tall enough to be seen above the witness box.
We're not showing you the child's face to protect his identity, but the second-grader was called to testify against his former mentor because of the Youtube video posted by the defendant and played for jurors Tuesday afternoon.
The video was shot in September after the boy got in trouble for running down the hallways and talking in school. But, what the defense framed as tough love, prosecutors call abuse.
The boy testified after he was "whooped," he had to exercise for Broox. But, he also said he had many other more pleasant visits with the defendant.
"One day I had a bad day and he still let me play the Playstation," the boy testified.
Broox tried to explain why he ever posted the video on Youtube.
"I wanted to encourage people to become mentors. The problem is definitely went about it the wrong way," Broox said.
The beating left its mark. The question for the jury is if Broox administered excessive discipline.
It is legal in Florida to use corporal punishment on children, but prosecutors say this case went too far.
"This is a very interesting case because it does raise the question of how much punishment is enough? Where do you cross the line? And the statute just generally says that if you maliciously punish the child, you may be found guilty of aggravated child abuse," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.
Sheaffer said part of the reason this case made it to trial is because video of the incident was posted on the Internet.
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