ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An Orange County couple was arrested after multiple people reported a video posted to Facebook that showed a young girl being slapped and forced to sleep outside without clothing, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
A video posted to social media showed the child sleeping outside with no clothing and only a white towel, according to the arrest report. In the video, people can be heard making fun of the child and laughing.
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Deputies said Kimberley Hunt, 30, shared the video in a group chat on Facebook referring to the child as a “dumb expletive” and writing, “this is the (expletive) I deal with on [a] daily basis.”
In one video, which was posted to Facebook, Justin Nickolai, who is Hunt’s 32-year-old husband, is seen slapping a girl and knocking her to the ground while calling her a liar, according to the arrest report. The Sheriff’s Office received multiple calls from concerned people who saw the video and reported the alleged abuse.
“Many of you reached out about a video on social media depicting alleged abuse of a child,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post. “Thank you! Our deputies responded, investigated [and] 2 arrests were made.”
The child was later taken to the hospital, according to the report. Hunt told deputies the child was jumping on the bed and fell on a laptop prior to being punished.
Nickolai told deputies they were receiving threats made over social media regarding the video.
After identifying both adults, deputies arrested Hunt and Nickolai. Hunt is charged with failure to report child abuse and neglect of a child. Nickolai is charged with child abuse.
Deputies said seven children live in the home and the Department of Children and Families was contacted.