Two Fla. parents were taken into custody after Kissimmee police were made aware of alleged child abuse claims. Now, both Lance Eugene Rachel and his wife, Kimberly Corene, face child abuse charges connected to a domestic incident from Saturday (Dec. 7), according to a statement made by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials reportedly began investigating the Rachel family on Wednesday (Dec. 11). The incident in question was partially captured on in-home surveillance cameras, according to officials. Police say Rachel began beating the male victim, who’s identity has not been released to the public because of his age as a minor, over a disagreement involving furniture.
The father was reportedly “angry about a couch cushion being displaced and accused the victim of lying,” said the Sheriff’s statement. “The suspect maliciously punished the child by screaming obscenities and physically abusing the victim over the course of 28 minutes.”
According to official reports, Rachel allegedly hit the child “over 50 times with a belt.” The statement continued saying the male child was also choked and called several disparaging names and other obscenities.” Rachel even allegedly told the victim he “would break his jaw.”
It remains unclear how officials were made aware of these child abuse claims, but in response to the accusations against Rachel, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos R. Lopez said “corporal punishment on your child is one thing, but child abuse and going too far is against the law.”
Officials interviewed the father on Dec. 16, during which Rachel “provided information, confirming the abuse,” according to the official statement. He was then arrested alongside his wife, Kimberly. Jail records report Rachel is charged with aggravated child abuse and battery by strangulation.
Kimberly, on the other hand, was arrested for “failure to report the known child abuse.” According to Osceola County Corrections and Jail Services, she has now been released.
Rachel remains in custody in preparation for court hearings.