Warning Graphic: Dad Records Video of Alleged Child Abuse
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CHARLOTTE, NC — A father is expected in court Thursday for a custody hearing after he recorded video of what he says shows a woman abusing his children.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say the mother of those children, Chermicka Smith, is in jail for three counts of child abuse.
The video shows a woman carrying a baby by his leg and repeatedly spanking him.
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A voice behind the camera says, “Don’t hit him no more.”
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That voice is Dominic Davidson, the two-year-old boy’s father.
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Davidson says the woman in the video is Smith, the mother of three of his children and three other children ages 12 to eight months old.
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Davidson’s attorney wouldn’t allow him to go into detail about the abuse so as to not harm his chances of getting his children back from the Department of Social Services.
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However, at his home Wednesday, he was open.
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He says he’s reported the abuse three times.
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With no evidence, he says nothing helped.
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Davidson tells WCCB Charlotte that’s why he secretly recorded the hitting last week.Β
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One minute into the recording, the woman moved from the baby and appears to hit another child with a belt.Β
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Davidson says that was his four-year-old.Β
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He called police the next day.
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Officers took the video, obtained warrants to arrest Smith for three counts of child abuse.
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She turned herself in five days later.
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Davidson says DSS has since taken his children.
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He says they wouldn’t watch or take the footage.
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It is common practice for DSS to decline to take video footage of abuse because there is that slight chance video can be edited.Β
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Police did take the video, and Davidson says officers say they will hand it over to the District Attorney.Β
