The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office has arrested Justin Reber, DOB 11/28/86, 2523 Belvedere Street, North Port, for strangling a boy at his church with a cord.

The 11-year-old victim told his mother that he was attacked by Reber on May 6th when they were working the controls in the audio-visual room during a church service at the Suncoast Worship Center, 881 South River Road in Englewood. Reber came up behind him and wrapped a black Ethernet cord around his neck. The child said he tried to grab the cord but couldn’t pull it away from his throat and eventually lost consciousness. The boy said that when he woke up, Reber apologized for his actions.

Reber was booked into the Sarasota County Jail yesterday and charged with Aggravated Child Abuse. Anyone with information about Reber or incidents of similar violent behavior is encouraged to call Criminal Investigations at 941-861-1719.