Florida Man Chokes 10-Year-Old Boy Who Fought With His Son

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. (WFOR) - Police say they are alarmed by a cellphone video that shows a 10-year-old boy being choked and shaken by a man in a Florida park on Memorial Day.

The suspect has been identified as 60-year-old Robert Marcu. He is charged with aggravated child abuse with great bodily harm and battery by strangulation.

Video of the incident allegedly shows Marcu grabbing a 10-year-old boy by the neck and shaking him while at Gwen Margolis Park in Sunny Isles Beach. The boy’s head can be seen bobbing back and forth. His face has been blurred to protect his identity.

“The biggest concern here is that a grown man with the strength of a man went after a young child that was helpless and could not, based on size alone, defend himself,” said Sunny Isles Beach Police Sgt. Melissa Porro.

Police say the 10-year-old victim and another child, allegedly Marcu’s son, were playing with water guns when the boys started fighting, and Marcu intervened.

“It was at this time that that individual approached one of the children involved in that little child’s play fight … and began to violently choke this child, pretty much scare this child to the point that he was crying hysterically and very upset,” Porro said.

The arrest report says Marcu grabbed the victim by the neck, impeding his breathing, restricting his airway and shaking him around while still gripping his neck. The report also states that Marcu said, “I know what I did, and I did it to teach him a lesson.”