A mother living in a small village in Honduras faces charges of child abuse. The woman was caught on video appearing to abuse her toddler in an incredibly traumatizing way. The video seems to show the woman burning the little girl with the flame from a match. She then appears to hit the child as she cries.
Thanks to the video spreading on social media, police discovered what was happening. The woman was promptly arrested and taken to jail. In addition, authorities removed her other children from her home and took them somewhere safe.
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Watch with caution: The video is disturbing.
The woman, Darlyn Pérez, was filmed video by an unknown person. Whomever was filming her, approaches quickly as they hear the little girl screaming and crying. Pérez is in the kitchen of her home in Boca del Rio Viejo, which is a municipality of the Honduran city of Marcovia. The mother appears to be holding holding a lit match under the little one, causing her to cry out “No!”
The entire scene is heartbreaking.
While the little girl is crying, the woman slaps her twice, saying, “She’s going to stay there kneeling.” After storming away from the child, she charges forward at the person filming. They have a scuffle that is caught on camera. The video stopped because of the fight.
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The video began to make the rounds on social media, leading to her arrest.
Later, someone — presumably the person who took the video — shared it on social media. Images of the abuse circulated online, and police took notice. The authorities showed up at Pérez’s house and arrested her, according to the Daily Mail.
As police escorted her from her home, reporters questioned her, asking if she had any remorse for what she had done. “I regret it,” she replied.
She faces charges of aggravated child abuse.
According to the woman, she doesn’t know what led her to do such a heinous thing to her child. “I don’t know. I was calm,” she said, insisting, “I don’t mistreat my girl.” She nodded “yes” when asked if it was the first time she’d done something like that.
“I take care of my daughter,” she said. “I would never do it again.” In addition to the abused child, the woman’s two other children were removed from her home and placed in the care of the country’s Secretariat of Children, Adolescents and Family.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
