Man Arrested After He Shared Footage Of Himself Choking Toddler On Snapchat

A man was arrested and charged after he strangled and thrashed a toddler and posted a video of the sickening abuse on Snapchat in Carroll County, Maryland on Thursday, Oct. 13.

The accused, identified as Benjamin Franklin, 23, of Carrollton, was arrested by officers from the Carroll County Sheriff's Department on Thursday, Oct. 13, and charged with criminal abuse of a child under 12 and strangulation after he physically assaulted a 2-year-old boy and shared the footage of the brutal attack on his Snapchat account with his followers, New York Post reported.

Authorities from the Carroll County Sheriff's Department were reportedly called to the Carroll County Memorial Hospital on Thursday, Oct. 13 evening on a report of child abuse. When the officers arrived, they examined the 2-year-old child. The child had visible injuries to his face and to his neck, including fresh scrapes.

When the deputies spoke with the boy's mother, she told them that she was at work earlier in the day when she was contacted by several people alerting her that Franklin had posted a video on his Snapchat account showing him physically abusing and throwing the child. According to the officers, the video that Franklin shared on Snapchat allegedly showed him "holding the child in the air by his throat and then slamming the child onto the bed."

On hearing about the assault, the mother rushed home and took the child to a hospital to seek treatment for injuries to his face and neck, WDRB reported.

Following this, when deputies confronted Franklin about the allegations against him, he allegedly admitted to hitting the child several times in the face, picking him up by the throat, choking him, throwing him down onto the bed, and recording the brutal incident.

Franklin was then arrested and charged with first-degree criminal abuse of a child and first-degree strangulation. He is currently being held in the Carroll County Detention Center on a $5,000 bond ahead of an Oct. 19 court date. He was also ordered to have no contact with the boy, his mother, or their home.

Officers did not specify Franklin’s relationship with the boy and his mother.