Girl Beaten For Slow Pace On Treadmill, Police Say

HOOVER, AL — A man has been arrested by Hoover police after they say he beat a young girl because she was not running fast enough on a treadmill. The incident occurred August 13.

The Hoover Police Department announced the arrest of 36-year-old Robert Barnes Fox V, charged with one count of aggravated child abuse. The investigation began Aug. 14 by the police department’s Special Victims Unit after being notified by the Department of Human Resources.

Investigators learned that on Aug. 13, Fox allegedly forced a 9-year-old girl to run on a treadmill in the garage. Police said Fox struck the child repeatedly with several different objects when she could not keep up the pace he wanted.

"This child was being forced to run at a pace of just over seven minutes per mile and was then beaten when she couldn’t keep up," said Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector in an Alabama Media Group report.

Fox turned himself in at the Shelby County Jail Wednesday and was released a short time later after posting $15,000 bond. Because of the age of the victim, no additional information is being released.