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Police: Woman Seen In Viral Video Beating 2 Children Arrested

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A Baltimore County woman has been arrested after police say she was seen in a video beating two of her children in an attempt to get her husband's attention.

Rachel Marie Pietro, 26, has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault and second-degree child abuse. She is being held without bail.

The investigation into Pietro began last week, after the video was posted online. Police say their lines were flooded with calls by people reporting what they saw online.

The video shows a woman slapping a 5-year-old in the head, and police say the woman in that video is Pietro.

"The investigation showed that she shot that video herself," said Elise Armacost, with Baltimore County Police Department. "She told us that she shot the video by propping the phone up on something."

Pietro reportedly told police she recorded the video because she hoped it would "encourage her husband to come home and take care of her."

She also said she was angry with the children.

RELATED: Baltimore Co. PD Investigate Viral Video Of Woman Beating 2 Children

Both children in the video, along with a third child not seen in the video, were put in the care of the Department of Social Services, and later transferred to family members.

Officers visited Pietro's home, and during their investigation, she reportedly told authorities the video was from two years ago, but police found the video had been recorded within the past two months.

Councilwoman Cathy Bevins told WJZ this happened in her Middle River District, and it made her angry.

"There's absolutely no excuse," said Bevins. "I don't even know how people use the word alleged. It's plain and clear to see on that video her rage and exactly what her intentions were."

Police took Pietro into custody last week.

Julia Knach with Family and Children Services says the decision to separate children from parents is not taken lightly.

"Most of the time they try to keep the kids there unless they are really concerned for their safety and so there must have been huge concerns for their safety in order to remove the kids," she says

Police say the two children who appeared in the video were 5 and 6 and one child had minor injuries.

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