Daniel Nelms
A Soddy Daisy man is facing charges of child abuse and neglect after video showed him hitting his daughter in the head.
In the incident on Tuesday, Daniel Nelms, 37, was taken to the county jail.
Deputy C.
Freeman said he arrived at 13400 Dayton Pike in Soddy Daisy in response to a report of child abuse at 6:45 p.m. Upon arriving at the location, he observed Nelms standing outside of his vehicle with his daughter sitting in the passenger seat.
The child reportedly only had a soiled diaper on and the officer observed a red mark on her upper chest and shoulder.
Deputy Freeman spoke to a woman, who stated that Nelms had attempted to hit the child while yelling at her in the store. He also reportedly called the child names while hitting her on the arms and legs.
After watching a store video where he observed Nelms both attempting to hit the child in the head and leaving her by herself, Deputy Freeman questioned him about his daughter’s condition. Nelms stated that she had not eaten since 10:30 a.m. and it was now 2 p.m. He also stated that he had a lot on his mind and was just trying to stop the child from crying.
Child protective services was notified and the child was turned over to Tim Bettis for the mother to pick up.