A 33-year-old Florida man is facing hate crime-enhanced charges after allegedly abusing a five-year-old boy because he believed the child was gay.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Andre Brown Jr. was arrested after deputies investigated reports of abuse involving three children in his care. Authorities say the five-year-old suffered a fractured wrist, bruises across his body, and a forehead contusion. Two other children were also reportedly injured. Investigators said a nine-year-old girl texted her mother expressing fear over Brown’s violence, prompting law enforcement intervention.
Deputies reported that Brown admitted he hit the child to “beat the gay out of him if possible, but since it wasn’t possible, he would beat him more.” Brown also faces a resisting arrest charge after allegedly struggling with deputies and shouting slurs during his arrest.
