Sometimes you hear or read stories online and really wish you hadn’t. They remind you of what a cruel, depraved place the world can be, and that the humans who populate it can be equally ruthless and absurdly cruel.
Unfortunately, this is one of those stories. It concerns 37-year-old Andrew Ross Celaius, who was caught on video surveillance burning his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter with a blow torch, shocking her with a dog collar, and hurling a water at her.
“The level of terror that this child was put through, our abuser would wear a mask, a werewolf mask, and the collar … is a tasing collar for dogs,” Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan told people at a press conference. “If you want to think of something you could do to a child to terrorize her, this child lived through that.
“It’s the thing nightmares are made of and no child should ever be subjected to this.”
The disgusting truth behind the horrific acts were discovered when Celaius’ girlfriend took her baby to a hospital for treatment for what she suspected was ringworm. The physicians who examined her, however, knew the ‘symptoms’ to be burn marks.
Fortunately, Celaius’ actions were not only caught by a surveillance camera, but police also found incriminating footage on his cellphone.
Chief Deputy Chip Simmons said: “I’ve been in law enforcement for over 30 years and when I looked at the evidence that we saw here, me and my staff were speechless.”
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Escambia County Sheriff's Office says 37-year-old Andrew Ross Celaius was taken from the jail to the hospital Wednesday night for unknown reasons.https://t.co/x0SiGOF6nd https://t.co/YGwkUquuI0
— WKRG (@WKRG) May 2, 2019
Celaius was apprehended and charged with probation violation, possession of a weapon, marijuana possession, drug equipment, drugs-health-safety, six counts of aggravated child abuse, four counts of child abuse, and three counts of possession of a controlled substance.
The 37-year-old, according to reports, was charged in 2006 with the murder of a young child, but a jury found him not guilty on that occasion.
Investigators are currently looking into whether he sexually abused the child in the most recent case, suggesting that he might yet face more charges. The child’s mom, meanwhile, is cooperating with police and has not been charged.
As per WEAR-TV, Celaius, who was scheduled to appear in court on May 2, was found hanging in his cell last Wednesday, but was rushed to hospital and is still alive.
Such evil in the world makes me terrified of having children myself. We can only hope Celaius will get the punishment he deserves.
We’re sending all our love and prayers to the innocent baby he abused. Share this article if you want to do the same.
