PALM BAY, Fla. – A 61-year-old Palm Bay man was arrested in connection with a disturbing case of child abuse involving two children, including one locked in a room for days and another who was repeatedly punched, police said.
On Tuesday, officers responded to a suicide threat call at a residence on Emerson Drive. During the investigation, one juvenile victim said Joseph Anthony Mazzella locked him in a room for extended periods — sometimes up to a week — providing only a bucket to relieve himself.
The child was reportedly confined with limited access to bathroom facilities and was brought food while locked inside, according to the police report.
The report also revealed a second juvenile victim who suffered repeated physical abuse. Mazzella admitted to punching this child multiple times, explaining to police that the child is “like Mike Tyson” and can take a hit to the jaw without showing much reaction, the report states.
The first juvenile described being punched, slapped, and having objects thrown at him by Mazzella and another adult. The victim reported that Mazzella threw a clothes rack and punched him in the head and torso multiple times. The second child had a faint red mark on his hand consistent with being hit by a plastic jar, the arrest report states.
Mazzella acknowledged locking the first child in the room with a lock on the door and restricting his movement as punishment, police said. He also admitted to hitting the children out of anger over alleged misbehavior and lies, according to the report.
Officers observed redness on the first victim’s chest and faint marks on the second child’s hand. Interviews with the children and a school vice principal confirmed consistent accounts of abuse, police said.
Mazzella was charged with aggravated child abuse and was taken into custody, appearing in a Brevard County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
An arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 12.