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Man charged in attack on child dancer captured on Facebook

Posted at 2:02 PM, Jul 07, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-07 14:02:35-04

Authorities are looking for a Missouri man who is accused of punching a 12-year-old street performer in the head in an attack that was captured on Facebook Live and has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

Cedric Charles Moore Jr., 27, of Cape Girardeau, was charged Monday with first-degree child endangerment and second-degree assault. The arrest warrant sets cash-only bond at $50,000. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Police said in a Facebook post that the Friday night attack in the city's downtown was "completely unprovoked." The post said officers have been to the suspect's home and other places he frequents but that his friends and family aren't cooperating.

Video footage, captured by Fingerprint Urban Dance Studio instructor Micheal "Crank" Curry, shows a dark-colored sport utility vehicle coming to a stop as the dancers take turns performing near a downtown intersection. A man then exits the vehicle, approaches the 12-year-old dancer from behind and punches the juvenile in the head before running off.

"It was horrible," Curry said Tuesday. "I was stunned."

Curry said he initially wanted to go after his student's attacker but backed off when he saw two others in the vehicle with the man. Bouncers at a nearby bar rushed out to help while Curry focused on his student. The boy was diagnosed with a concussion but has since been released from the hospital.

"Right now he is still dealing with dizziness and his nose hurts," Curry said. "He is just trying to rebuild himself and recoup from what happened."
A fundraiser has been started for the student and the studio.

"I feel like he right now is kind of scared to go downtown and perform," Curry said. "Step by step he is trying to regain that trust."