- The 60-year-old father has been charged with serious child abuse
- He told the judge he felt the incident was only a “minor” matter
Police were alerted after receiving cellphone video that showed a middle-aged man choking a 10-year-old boy in a local park on Memorial Day.
The suspect in the video taken at Gwen Margolis Park in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, was quickly identified as Robert Sandy Marcu, 60.
Marcu was charged with aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm and battery by strangulation, although he described the incident in court as “minor.”
Video of the alleged strangulation shows Marcu grabbing a 10-year-old boy by the neck and shaking him in the park.
The child’s head moves back and forth, although his face is blurred in the video to protect the minor’s identity.
Accused strangler Robert Sandy Marcu, 60, who allegedly strangled a 10-year-old boy who got into a playground fight with his son
Sergeant Melissa Porro of the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department said of the incident, “The biggest concern here is that a grown man with the strength of a man went after a young child who was helpless and took himself just based on his size.” , could not defend.’
Authorities say the young victim and another child, reportedly Marcu’s son, were playing with water guns on the hot day when a fight broke out between the boys and Marcu intervened.
“It was at that point that that person approached one of the children involved in that little child’s play fight,” Porro said.
He “began to violently strangle this child, causing the child to be so scared that he was crying hysterically and was very upset,” she added.
In the arrest report, authorities wrote that Marcu grabbed the young victim by the neck, preventing him from breathing properly and restricting his airways.
He then shook the child while holding his neck tightly.
The report then states that Marcu said, “I know what I did, and I did it to teach him a lesson.”
The alleged attack is said to have taken place at Gwen Margolis Park in Sunny Beach Isles, Florida, on Memorial Day
The victim reportedly had red spots and scratches on his body.
Sergeant Porro said the boy was quite upset by the incident but was physically fine.
On Tuesday, Marcu appeared in court, where a local judge set his bond at $5,000.
He was also ordered to stay away from the victim, who was also revealed to attend the same school as his son.