A local official was caught on camera abusing his step-son in his backyard. INSIDE EDITION spoke with the neighbor who shot the disturbing video.
A grown man was whipping a 10-year-old boy with a belt again and again, and it was all caught on tape.
It was supposed to be a father-and-son game of catch. Instead, every time the boy dropped the ball, he got a walloping with the belt.
It was too much for the next door neighbor to take, so he started taping the disturbing scene. In the video, you can hear him yelling at the grown-up to stop.
The neighbor yelled, "That's enough! I'm having a [expletive] problem with you beating him, ‘cause he won't catch the [expletive] ball!"
INSIDE EDITION's Les Trent spoke to the neighbor, Oscar Lopez, via Skype. "The images speak for themselves, you can't watch it without it bothering you," Lopez told Trent.
You won't believe who the guy is who's wielding the belt. He's 34-year-old Anthony Sanchez. Sanchez holds an elected position as a district director in Imperial County, outside San Diego. He also coaches little league. The child he whipped was his step-son.
Lopez gave INSIDE EDITION a look at the confrontation that followed the incident: "He goes, 'do you know who I am? Do you know my kid?' When he said 'do you know who I am?' I said, at that point, 'I don't care who you are.'"
The neighbor was so disgusted, he posted the video on Facebook. His friends told him that the man was actually an elected official, and that he'd better call the authorities.
He turned the video over to the sheriff's department. They are now investigating Sanchez for child abuse.
Sanchez's attorney says he is cooperating with the investigation. Now, with the video going viral, Sanchez has a lot to answer for.
