Ricky Casey
A Soddy Daisy man has been arrested after a video recently went viral of a violent incident with a baby.
Ricky Storm Casey, 23, of Bretton Drive, is charged with aggravated domestic assault and aggravated child abuse.
Sheriff detectives said they were made aware of a video "depicting an approximately four-month-old baby being violently slammed repeatedly on what appeared to be bedding by an adult male."
It was determined that the video was recorded by a woman (mother of the child) and showed Casey assaulting the small child.
Detectives said they learned that the video originated in September 2020 or 2021 and was recorded on the woman's Snapchat account and saved in her Memories. The mother of the woman who recorded the video and is the mother of the child gave detectives the identity of the child.
The mother of the woman who recorded the video said that "Ricky always picked on that one," but said she did not know why.
Casey, who was picked up at his job, said the incident occurred in 2021 at 5866 Dayton Blvd., Apt. 2.
He said he had anger issues at the time and he only did this once. He said he has since resolved his anger management issues.
A nurse practitioner with the Children's Advocacy Center said that traumatic shaking, that was as forceful and aggressive as the one in the video, could cause brain swelling, brain bleeding, and retinal hemorrhages.
The mother of the child said the child was never seen by a medical professional after the incident.
Officials said, "In July of this year, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of a video depicting an adult male assaulting a young child.
"Investigative Services with HCSO immediately began working with the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office and community partners to determine significant details of the assault, including the date, location, and identity of the child.
"At this time, detectives with the Sheriff’s Office have confirmed that the offense did not recently occur, but that the video is several years old. It is unclear why the video recently surfaced. HCSO is working to gather more information.
"Yesterday, the suspect, Ricky Casey, was located and additional information was obtained that led to his arrest. Last night, he was booked into the Hamilton County Jail and has been charged with aggravated domestic assault and aggravated child abuse."
District Attorney Coty Wamp said, “My office has been diligently working with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on this investigation since the horrific video surfaced. We have also been working with partnering agencies including the Children’s Advocacy Center and the Department of Children’s Services to ensure the well-being of the child. The investigation is ongoing and the culpability of the mother of the child has not yet been determined.”
Sheriff Austin Garrett said, “I would like to thank everyone in our community and region who sent texts, social media messages, and tips to me and our agency regarding the disturbing video of the young child being assaulted that surfaced yesterday evening. Let me be very clear, the HCSO takes all allegations of child abuse with the utmost seriousness, and we will not tolerate the mistreatment or abuse of a child.
"In situations like this, I am especially grateful for our strong partnerships, particularly with the District Attorney’s Office, which enables us to work together effectively to address these types of incidents.”
Although an arrest has been made, the investigation into this incident is still ongoing, it was stated.