Greg Horn, 35, whipped his daughters, ages 12 and 14, with a video cable after walking in on the girls recording themselves “twerking.” Twerking involves wobbling or jiggling the hips and buttocks. Or, to borrow Miley Cyrus’s definition, “It’s a lot of booty action.”
The video was first posted on WorldStarHipHop.com before making its way to YouTube. Several reaction videos popped up shortly afterward.
According to the police report, one of the girls had visible welts on her legs and open wounds in the thigh area from being beaten with the video cable. The girls’ mother noticed the wounds and called police.
The 30 second video sparked a debate over whether Horn’s actions were abusive or good parenting. Some felt that he went too far — at one point, one of the girls screams, “Daddy, stop,” but he continues to beat her — while others felt he was teaching his daughters a lesson and preventing them from engaging in more inappropriate behavior. Ultimately, even though the video had gone viral and left many wondering why the police hadn’t been notified, it was the mother’s intervention that led to an arrest.
Horn’s indictment comes during the first week of Child Abuse Awareness Month.
“The goal is always to keep kids safe,” Montgomery County Children Services spokesman Kevin Lavoie said. He also added that when people are reporting cases of child abuse, they don’t have to leave a name or even have definitive proof that abuse is taking place. The suspicion of abuse is more than enough.
“It may be nothing,” Lavoie said. “But rather than analyze it, let our specialists figure it out and the best course of action.”
Although it was initially reported that the girls were beaten for recording themselves twerking, they told police they were beaten for sneaking out of the house.
Greg Horn is scheduled to appear in court on April 16 for his arraignment hearing.
Do you think Greg Horn was justified in beating his daughters with a video cable, whether for twerking or for sneaking out of the house?
