Tampa man arrested on suspicion of pinning down an 11-year-old girl he claimed was egging his home

By Diego Mendoza and Holly Yan, CNN

(CNN) — A Tampa man was arrested last week on suspicion of tackling an 11-year-old girl he believed had been throwing eggs at his home, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida said.

“This type of behavior is not only unacceptable, it’s reprehensible,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a post on X this week. “This child endured a terrifying and traumatic experience at the hands of someone who chose to take matters into his own hands.”

Video taken by a witness and released by authorities Monday shows Marius Mutu, 43, pinning down the unidentified child who screams for help and insists she has done nothing wrong, the sheriff’s office said.

“I wasn’t doing anything, I swear to God!” the girl is heard screaming in the video as she tries to squirm away. “Help me! Help me!”

The man identified by authorities as Mutu is seen grabbing the girl’s arms and forcing them to her sides as neighbors responded to the commotion and confronted him.

“Get off of her!” a woman shouts at the man in the video. “Get your hands off of her!” another person shouts before he sprints into the frame.

Sheriff deputies arrived at the scene around 12:05 p.m. Saturday, when Mutu told them someone had been egging his apartment for the last week, the sheriff’s office said.

“When it happened again that day, he assumed the girl walking nearby was responsible, chased her, forced her to the ground, and restrained her until adults intervened,” the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect told deputies he was trying to take a photo of the child so he could report the incident to apartment management, authorities said.

It’s not clear whether the girl who was pinned to the ground had any involvement in the alleged egging of Mutu’s home.

At the time of the incident, “there were no eyewitnesses, video footage, or physical evidence indicating that the victim was involved in any of the egging incidents,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Carolina Montelongo told CNN.

Mutu was arrested on site and faces charges of battery and false imprisonment, the sheriff’s office said. County records indicate Mutu was released on bond. His attorney, Brett Metcalf, declined to comment “on the pending litigation” at this time.

Mutu was most recently employed by the city of Tampa, but is now suspended from his job, said Joshua Cascio, a spokesperson for the city’s infrastructure and mobility department.

Mutu started last week as a parking enforcement specialist, Cascio told CNN. “He is currently suspended while the situation is under review.”

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