PEABODY, Mass. (WHDH) — A Peabody father was in court Tuesday after police said he beat his daughter for downloading the popular social media app Snapchat.
Prosecutors said Sean Nguyen, 31, grabbed his 11-year-old daughter by the hair and put his arms around her throat when he learned she had Snapchat on her phone. He then allegedly whipped her several times with a belt as she lay on a bed.
Prosecutors said the girl was at her father’s apartment on Aborn Street for a weekend visit.
Nguyen’s sister, Michele, said she was at the apartment during the alleged assault and said her brother never tried to strangle her niece.
“It’s just a little situation that got a little bit out of control,” said Michele Nguyen. “I stated multiple times over and over again that did not happen.”
Nguyen’s girlfriend Kiana Gamble defended him, saying he was just punishing her since she is not allowed to have Snapchat.
“He doesn’t want her to have Snapchat, there’s no boyfriend, she’s an 11-year-old girl,” said Gamble. “He was disciplining her. That’s what a father should do.”
Nguyen is due back in court on Friday for a dangerousness hearing.
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