Bogota balcony viral video was not a case of child abuse, Colombia lets Texas man walk
The viral video created a global uproar after mobile cameras footages of a pedestrian calling out the Texas man's actions from the street reached social media platforms
A Texas man, initially arrested in Bogota, Colombia, on child abuse allegations after a viral video showed a woman confronting him on a balcony with a seven-year-old boy, has been released without charges. Medical reports confirmed no sexual or physical assault on the child, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro defending the man, stating he was assisting the boy who was choking on food. The incident, which drew a crowd and police intervention, led to the man's arrest, but further examinations by the National Institute of Legal Medicine and the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare cleared him and the two other children present in the apartment, with reports suggesting the man may have adopted the three children.
A Texas man, initially arrested in Bogota, Colombia, on child abuse allegations after a viral video showed a woman confronting him on a balcony with a seven-year-old boy, has been released without charges. Medical reports confirmed no sexual or physical assault on the child, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro defending the man, stating he was assisting the boy who was choking on food. The incident, which drew a crowd and police intervention, led to the man's arrest, but further examinations by the National Institute of Legal Medicine and the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare cleared him and the two other children present in the apartment, with reports suggesting the man may have adopted the three children.
A Texas man, initially arrested in Bogota, Colombia, on child abuse allegations after a viral video showed a woman confronting him on a balcony with a seven-year-old boy, has been released without charges. Medical reports confirmed no sexual or physical assault on the child, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro defending the man, stating he was assisting the boy who was choking on food. The incident, which drew a crowd and police intervention, led to the man's arrest, but further examinations by the National Institute of Legal Medicine and the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare cleared him and the two other children present in the apartment, with reports suggesting the man may have adopted the three children.
The Texas man involved in the viral video from Colombia's Bogota was released without facing any charges. As per US reports quoting Colombian media, medical reports confirmed that the seven-year-old boy was found not to have been sexually or physically assaulted.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro himself had come to the man's defence, claiming that the American’s intentions were not evil as suspected, and he had taken the boy to the balcony to help him as he was choking on his food.
The video of a woman screaming at a man standing alongside the boy on the balcony of a residential building in Bogota had gone viral on the internet. She reacted under the impression that the child was being abused in broad daylight by the tourist in the balcony of the rented accommodation.
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She alleged that the tourist was sexually abusing the boy. Her reaction attracted more people to the Chicó Navarra neighbourhood of the Usaquén district. Soon, police arrived at the scene and arrested the US citizen in his thirties on charges of child abuse.
Apart from the minor boy, two other children were also found inside the man's flat. However, Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine reportedly confirmed that the boy was not sexually or physically assaulted. The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), which took the kids under its wing from the apartment, had reportedly taken the boy there for a medical examination. This was the ground for the US man's release, reports said.
"The National Institute of Legal Medicine confirmed that there had been no sexual violence. Given the speed with which we were able to respond, any form of sexual violence against the three children has been ruled out," CBS News quoted Astrid Cáceres, the director of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, as telling local media.
As per Colombian sources who spoke to US media, it is likely that the tourist had adopted the three children. This could explain their presence in the man's apartment and their calm composure on being asked questions by authorities at the hospital.
The report, however, did not mention if the man was on a flight back home already. There was considerable public anger against him given the circumstances of his arrest, and the anti-riot squad was called in to ensure the safe extraction of the man from his apartment.