A Florida man was arrested Wednesday after telling officers he had been called by God to baptize a child in a neighbor's pool filled with algae and bugs, deputies said.
Henry Love, 51, who was watching an 11-year-old, said God woke him from his sleep and told him to take the boy to be baptized, WFTV reports. Love made him strip down to his shorts before leading him next door to the above-ground pool and throwing him in, according to the police report.
The boy told his mother that the water in the pool was "nasty and green," according to WFTV. Deputies confirmed that the water was "unsanitary."
Deputies said despite the boy's protests, Love dunked him under water several times while yelling, "You're being baptized," the report said.
The boy, who was in Love's care over summer break, was taken to the doctor by his mother after she said he developed an ear and eye infection the night of the incident. The doctor who treated the boy said it was likely that the unsanitary pool water was the source of the infections, the police report said.
Love was arrested and charged with child abuse. He is being held without bond.
WFTV contributed to this report.
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