MIAMI (WSVN) - A 40-year-old Miami man was arrested Wednesday on a child abuse charge involving his 6-year-old son, according to police.
According to an arrest report from the Miami Police Department, the investigation began on Monday after the child’s aunt reported suspected abuse involving her nephew.
The woman told officers she overheard a conversation between the child and her daughters in which the boy said something “looked funny or not right.” She later questioned him and recorded the interaction on her phone, police said.
In the recording, the child indicated his father would inappropriately touch him and demonstrated the behavior, according to the report.
The woman also told investigators the suspect has a history of substance abuse and aggressive behavior toward family members.
When officers first spoke with the child, he denied inappropriate touching but said his father sometimes hit him with clothing hangers. Officers observed fading bruises on his legs at the time.
During a later forensic interview, the child said his father struck his legs with plastic hangers and described additional acts that caused him pain.
He told investigators the acts occurred while he was clothed and involved the hanger being used in an aggressive manner that caused injury.
Investigators said the child demonstrated the alleged abuse using a sofa and a pen as a substitute, showing how the object was used while repeatedly striking the area.
A medical examination conducted by a Child Protection Team nurse documented bruising on the child’s lower legs, as well as a laceration and injuries in the area between the buttocks.
The injuries were consistent with the child’s account, according to the report. The child told medical staff the injuries were caused by his father hitting him with a hanger.
The father, identified by police as Alexander Herrera, later went to the police department and agreed to speak with detectives after being advised of his rights.
When confronted with the allegations and shown photographs of the child’s injuries, Herrera claimed the injuries were the result of the child falling off a bicycle and landing on the seat, police said.
He initially denied recent drug use but later admitted to it.
Herrera was arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center pending a court hearing.
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