http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/a...14432&catid=57

Caught On Tape: NC Toddlers Encouraged To Fight
Posted by: Chelsi Zash Created: 11/20/2008 8:01:04 AM Updated: 11/20/2008 12:36:08 PM

Fort Bragg, NC -- A mother is outraged after her toddlers were caught on tape being encouraged to fight by their father.

The video shows two toddlers repeatedly slapping and punching each other. One little boy is seen crying and trying to cover up, obviously wanting the beating to stop.

The video that was originally uploaded to YouTube, is now at the center of a custody battle.

Alicia Sheideger, the children's mother, says she was horrified. "I thought it was a baby cock fight. Like somebody putting two animals up to fight each other. They're not animals, they're humans."

She confronted her ex-husband who has custody of the children at his home on post in Fort Bragg. She says that her husband told her the kids had been fighting for two days and he finally just decided to let them have at it and just not stop them.

Sheideger called Child Protective Services and the Military Police.

The army issued the following statement: "The behavior displayed by the parents in the video is neither condoned nor indicative of soldiers in this command or the army."

Sheideger says her ex-husband did lose custody of the kids, but only temporarily.

CNN

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,455086,00.html

Fort Bragg Soldier Investigated for Allegedly Videotaping Toddler Son Fighting With Another Child

Thursday, November 20, 2008

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A Fort Bragg soldier is under investigation after a disturbing video surfaced on the Internet of his toddler son and another little boy punching and shoving each other as an unidentified man eggs them on.

The video was posted on YouTube, but later removed, The Fayetteville Observer reported Tuesday.

The video shows two small boys pushing and hitting each other while a man off-camera urges one to stay in the fight.

"Go on, hit him back. I don't care," an adult male voice can be heard saying.

At one point, one of the tots tries to crawl away, but the other one goes after him and continues punching and slapping him as the boy cries and covers himself with his arms as he tries to fend off his tiny attacker.

The unidentified father who allegedly taped the toddlers' fight is a soldier in the Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

His ex-wife brought the video to the Army's attention, and the little boy has been removed from his care and is staying with a relative, KTLA-TV reported. Special Operations spokeswoman Carol Darby said the video is at the center of a child custody dispute.

The Army said in a prepared statement that it was cooperating with other authorities and didn't condone the soldier's actions.

"The behavior displayed by the parents in the video is neither condoned nor indicative of soldiers in this command or the Army," the statement read. "This command will take the appropriate actions as required and will continue to cooperate with civilian agencies."

Click here for more on this story from Military.com.