Nassau County Police DeptSomeone might have misunderstood the concept of The Biggest Loser.
Personal trainer Anthony Badalamenti, who worked with a season-four castoff from the hit NBC series, was arrested Friday in New York on suspicion of beating his girlfriend's 6-year-old son with a weight-lifting belt.
Nassau County Police Department spokesman Kevin Smith told E! News today that neighbors called 911 at about 9:20 p.m. after hearing what sounded like a young boy crying, "Help, help," coming from the apartment Badalamenti shares with girlfriend Jessica Muniz.
When police arrived, the crying had stopped and the lights flickered off, Smith said. No one was answering the door or the phone, so officers eventually had to knock the front door down.
"When they entered the apartment, they found the child in his bedroom, crying, with multiple lacerations, contusions and bruises," Smith said. "He was immediately taken to the hospital.
Badalamenti, 31, and Muniz, 29, were arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault, possession of a dangerous weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.
Police said that two belts were found inside—one measuring 3 inches-wide, with no buckle, while the other had a buckle and was seemingly held together by duct tape.
"It looked like it was purely used as a striking instrument," Smith said.
Badalamenti and Muniz were both arraigned in First District court in Hempstead, N.Y., and remanded in lieu of $100,000 and $50,000 bail, respectively.
Muniz's son was treated for his injuries at a local hospital and released into the care of a relative.
Attorneys for Badalamenti and Muniz have not yet responded to requests for comment.
CORRECTION: According to an NBC spokeswoman, Badalamenti never appeared on any season of The Biggest Loser, but rather worked with a contestant from the show's fourth season for five weeks after the person was eliminated. (Updated Nov. 7, 2008 at 5:53 p.m. PT)