A McComb man is charged with 27 counts of felony child abuse after he allegedly recorded footage of himself beating a disabled 5-year-old girl.
Pike County sheriff’s deputies arrested Alex Mead, 23, 1052 Eastover Lane, after the victim’s mother reported that Mead beat her daughter “mercilessly” and repeatedly while he filmed the beatings on his cellphone.
He’s in the Pike County Jail held on $140,000 bond.
Deputies met with the mother, who said she discovered the video on Mead’s cellphone on Feb. 9, Pike County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator Greg Martin said.
Martin said the mother contacted the Brookhaven Police Department on Feb. 13 and Brookhaven police then contacted Pike County investigators, who arrested Mead Sunday.
Martin said investigators discovered 27 recordings that allegedly showed Mead beating the child, who Martin said has special needs.
In one video, Martin said Mead is shown striking the child with his fists and pulling her hair.
The girl’s mother told investigators she noticed bruising on the girl’s nose.
The department released the information about the case late Tuesday morning.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services is assisting in the investigation, Martin said.
Martin said the girl was sent to the hospital for examination.
Martin said the victim’s mother knows Mead, and “she told us she suspected he was on drugs. She said he was acting kind of strange.”
Martin said he was sickened by the case.
“I watched one video. It made me sick. I can’t understand why anyone would do this,” he said.
