Cops: Dollar Store Clerk Whipped Boy
A Georgia clerk is facing a battery charge after she was caught on tape allegedly whipping a customer's child at least 25 times with a belt behind the counter of the store where she worked.
Emilia Graciela Bell, 39, was arrested on Thursday at the Dollar General in Wrightsville, Ga., for aggravated assault for whipping 8-year-old Logan Ivey, who was at the store with his mother. According to a police report, Bell admitted to whipping the child with her belt after he had thrown a battery and a cookie at her.
On Monday the charge was elevated to cruelty to children after investigators saw additional footage or her hitting the child 16 to 18 more times than was originally thought.
"There were two different angles from different cameras in the store," Wrightsville Police Assistant Sheriff Bill Thompson told ABCNews.com. "They'd only watched the first when they arrested Ms. Bell. After finding out another camera had caught it, you could see her striking the child 16 to 18 more times."
Thompson said that the boy, who had been at the store with his mother, was struck by Bell a total of 25 to 28 times. The police report indicates that Logan was trying to hide from Bell behind the counter of the store.
"She had him behind the counter," he said. "She had him on the floor at one point. It was pretty bad, looking on the video."
When contacted by ABCNews.com, Bell was unavailable for comment. Calls placed to the Dollar General were not answered.
Wrightsville police said that Bell posted $5,000 bond on Friday morning. She had not yet entered a plea, and the case has been transferred to Georgia Superior Court.
