A Florida man is facing child and animal abuse charges after his teen daughter used a hidden Nest camera in her bedroom to gather evidence of his alleged crimes, according to police.
Damon Richard Becnel, 47, was arrested on Jan. 2 after his 14-year-old daughter turned her footage over to police, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. The girl had set up the cameras after police opted not to pursue her previous claims about him.
Footage provided to ABC 7 News shows the suspect and the girl arguing in her bedroom.
“I’m killing the dog!” the man shouts, while holding a dog in his arms with an object to its throat.
“Dad, you’re not!” she shouts at him.
The object in the man’s hand was a knife, according to a police report obtained by ABC 7.
“I will cut this f—ing God damn dog’s f—ing eyeballs out, I’ll f—ing do it,” the report quotes Becnel as saying.
The video also shows the suspect punching a dog, head-butting the girl and slamming her into a bedpost, Sheriff’s Sgt. Marcus O’Sullivan wrote in the arrest report.
The video was recorded on Dec. 23, NBC News reports.
The girl’s mother, Allison Tringas, said authorities have ignored her claims of abuse in the past.
“Nothing has ever been done to help my daughter,” Tringas told WEAR-TV. “She absolutely knew that something bad was going to happen and nobody would believe her unless she had that on film.”
Tringas does not live with her daughter.
Becnel has been charged with felony child abuse and misdemeanour tormenting an animal, jail records show. He was released Jan. 3 on a $4,000 bond.
Tringas says she hopes “justice” is found for her daughter.
“She is one strong and one smart little girl and I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Tringas said. “She is my hero.”
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