44-year-old man arrested in connection to attack on mother, autistic son in Fort Lauderdale

An arrest has been made in the case of an attack on a mother and her autistic son.

Fort Lauderdale Police officers announced on Friday night that 44-year-old Hutch Benjamin had been identified, located, and arrested.

He faces two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to detectives.

According to police, Benjamin is seen on surveillance video creeping up behind a mother and her 12-year-old son in Fort Lauderdale as they were walking to a bus stop on Tuesday morning.

The mother, Chrissy, tries to step in, but gets hit with an apparent stick being held by Benjamin, along with her son. The suspect then walks away before turning around one last time, according to detectives.

The attack left the mother bruised with a bandage around her head and a cut on the son’s face. They were both rushed to the hospital with injuries that were not threatening.

Following their release from the hospital, the mother spoke to 7News.

“Some guy just comes behind us out [of] the blue — my son’s nonverbal, he’s disabled, that’s sad — and then he just comes and tells him something and attacks him, and then I had to intercept and get in front of him, and he attacks me,” she said.

Chrissy said she and her family had just moved to the area, but are now left with scars from an unprovoked attack.

“It doesn’t matter where you live. You don’t make your own neighborhood a problem for the neighborhood, especially kids who can’t fend for themselves,” she said.

This isn’t Benjamin’s first run-in with the law. Court records show he has a pretty long rap sheet.