Man caught on camera hitting, force-feeding baby arrested, Titusville police say

Charles Bryan, 40, of Titusville, faces child abuse charges

Charles Bryan, 40, of Titusville, who was booked Wednesday Feb. 9, 2022. (Brevard County Sheriff's Office)

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A man was booked into the Brevard County jail Wednesday after investigators received videos showing him hitting a baby, according to Titusville police.

Charles Bryan — 40, of Titusville — is being held without bond as of this writing.

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According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, police began investigating on Feb. 1 when they received three surveillance videos from the Florida Department of Children and Families which appear to show Bryan hitting the victim.

DCF was notified about the videos by a woman whose relationship to Bryan and the victim is not made clear in the redacted affidavit.

Police said when they contacted the woman, she said she allowed Bryan to watch the child as long as she was given access to his home surveillance system so she could check in on how the baby was being cared for. However, she claimed the man had cut her off from the system by changing the password after the pair had gotten into a fight. Despite that, the woman said she still received videos showing from the surveillance system in her email, records show, which she then turned over to DCF.

According to investigators, one of the videos shows Bryan hitting the child as he is changing the victim’s diaper. Another video shows Bryan forcing a cookie into the victim’s mouth, causing the baby to fall backward, the affidavit shows. In the third video, police said Bryan can be seen forcing a bottle into the baby’s mouth while holding their head down as the victim cried.

Bryan faces a charge of child abuse without great bodily harm.