AN 18-YEAR-OLD from Florida has been arrested after a video of him beating a 16-year-old autistic boy went viral.
Andrew Wheeler, 18, was arrested last week after a video of him beating Aaron Hill, a 16-year-old who is on the autism spectrum, at a party appeared online.
In the video, Wheeler is seen punching, kneeing and grabbing Hill by the hair. In a statement to police, Hill said that he had been choked until he passed out. When he woke up, Wheeler was hitting him.
Hill was found on the street by a passing motorist several blocks away after collapsing.
KTLA reports that Wheeler was charged with felony child abuse. The video was reported to have been found on Wheeler’s Facebook page.
Police have also arrested Evadean Dailey Lydecker and charged her with allowing minors drink at her home.
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Okeechobee City Police Chief Denny Davis told KTLA that the video was “disgusting”.
“I think the video is disgusting. It is just as upsetting to myself and my officers as it is to anyone else that viewed it. Absolutely no way would we ever attempt to cover up anything like that. So it’s very disturbing.”
Wheeler told police that he was responding to a call about a “drunk guy” at a party and was trying to remove Hill from the house.
The incident has spawned a Twitter hashtag and Facebook group and was picked up by Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul.
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