A man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a teenager and beating him with a belt in Carroll County, Georgia. The bizarre incident happened in front of the teenager’s aunt’s home while playing basketball with his cousins.
The incident was caught on a security camera which started with the white male named Matt Martel, 29, quickly approaching Maliyk Sim, 15. Although the video footage is not clear, the audio is.
During the video, it appears Martel, who is the next-door neighbor, grabs the front of Maliyk’s shirt before the two go off-camera when you hear a crash.
“I was just panicked. I could not believe that in 2021 a fully grown man would think that it was ok to come outside with a belt,” said Maliyk’s mother, Latika Sim. “When you see the video, he is running full speed at him, and he’s caught off guard,” she added.
In a police report obtained by local news outlet 11Alive, Martel says he physically assaulted Maliyk because the kids were using profanity while outside playing. Martel is reportedly charged with assault, battery, cruelty to children, and disorderly conduct.
“He grabbed me with his hands around my neck. He threw me up against a garage, and I hit my head,” said Maliyk.
Maliyk also included that he was in shock and didn’t want to fight back because he was fearful of getting in trouble.
“My son has played football, he has played every sport, he is fully capable of defending himself. But he knew he could not defend himself. So he walked away. He walked away, and still, this man is chasing him with a belt. So now I am in a full panic because my kids are unprotected,” said Sim.
Latika Sim raced over there as soon as she could and called the police. She was absolutely shocked that a man would reportedly beat her child with a belt.
“I have worked in child care for 15 years. I have had kids say crazy things to me, I have had them hit me, I have never once thought, let me take my belt off and beat someone else’s kid. So even when he’s texting saying, he heard my son say a curse word, I do not care,” she said.
