Drunken man arrested in ocean child abuse

A drunken Daytona Beach father was doing back flips off the Daytona Beach Pier as his 5-year-old son struggled in the surf in what the father described as a swimming lesson, a police report said.

John Bloodsworth, 37, of Daytona Beach, told the officer that he was “teaching his son how to swim,” when he waded in and tossed the boy into the waves, a report said.

Then when he was arrested, he said he was “going to jail for being awesome.”

A Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue officer told Bloodsworth that no lifeguards had been on duty for more than two hours, there was a moderate risk of rip currents and he was in an area where swimming and other water activity was prohibited, because it was too close to the pier, a report states.

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According to the report, Bloodsworth responded that he could not think of a better place to teach his son to swim.

The case began when a Daytona Beach police officer got a tip about 8:14 p.m. Monday concerning a drunk man. The officer then saw Bloodsworth jumping off the pier. After arresting him, the officer learned that several people were trying to comfort his son. who was crying as people helped the child dry off. 

A witness, Ajla Babic, told police she was with her family on the pier when Bloodsworth walked into the water to a depth of about 4 feet approximately 40 feet north of the pier. He then tossed his son into the waves. The son was struggling to tread water and making no progress toward shore or his father, the report states. Meanwhile, Bloodsworth was yelling “go back.”

Another witness, Jason Brown, said he saw Bloodsworth leaping off the pier while leaving the child unattended in the water for 12 to 15 minutes, the report states.

Bloodsworth speech's was slurred and his breath smelled like alcohol. He said he had had four to five beers before coming to the beach, the report states. He kept asking if he was going to jail and showed no concern for his crying son, the report states.

Bloodsworth repeatedly said he was not endangering his child by "teaching him to swim."

Officers searched Bloodsworth's bag and found a small glass smoking pipe and a clear plastic bag with a "green leafy substance," the report states.

The child was turned over to his mother.

Bloodsworth was arrested by the Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue and charged with aggravated abuse of a child resulting in physical/mental injuries, disorderly intoxication and swimming within 300 feet of the pier. Bloodsworth was released from the Volusia County Branch Jail after posting $1,500 bail.

Bloodsworth was also issued a trespass notice barring him from returning to the pier and surrounding area. He did not return a phone message left Wednesday.

The trespass notice was issued because as Bloodsworth was being taken to the Beach Safety Headquarters for paperwork he said he would be “coming back to the pier to jump off every day.”

When he was told not to jump off the pier, he replied that next time he would bring his daughter to jump with him. 

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