- The 60-year-old father has been charged with aggravated child abuse
- He told the judge he felt the incident had simply been a “minor” matter.
Police were alarmed after receiving cellphone video showing a middle-aged man apparently 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 60-year-old Robert Sandy Marcu.
Marcu was charged with aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm and assault 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 boy’s head can be seen moving back and forth, although his face has been blurred in the video to protect the child’s identity.
The accused strangler, Robert Sandy Marcu, 60, who allegedly strangled a 10-year-old boy who had gotten into a playground fight with his son.
Sunny Isles Beach Police Sergeant Melissa Porro said of the incident: “The biggest concern here is that a grown man with the strength of a man chased a small child who was helpless and unable, based solely on his size , defend yourself.”
Authorities say the young victim and another boy, reportedly Marcu’s son, were playing with water guns on the hot day when a fight broke out between the children and Marcu intervened.
‘It was at that time that that individual approached one of the children involved in that childish play fight,’ Porro said.
“He began to violently strangle this child, scaring him to the point that he was crying hysterically and very upset,” he added.
In the arrest report, authorities wrote that Marcu grabbed the young victim by the neck, stopping her ability to breathe properly and restricting her airway.
He then shook the child while holding him tightly by the neck.
The report then says Marcu said, “I know what I did and I did it to teach him a lesson.”
The alleged assault allegedly occurred at Gwen Margolis Park in Sunny Beach Isles, Florida, on Memorial Day.
The victim would have been left with red marks and scratches on his person.
Sgt Porro said the boy was considerably shaken by the incident, but 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.
