Posted on 08/22/2010 3:51:32 PM PDT by Tom87
An Ozark mother and her boyfriend are facing charges tonight for child endangerment and endangerment. Delaina Collins is charged with six counts of child endangerment. Her boyfriend Michael Kuster is charged with child abuse for spanking kids with a board with staples in it.
On August 14, police got a call to an Ozark home for domestic violence. The officer says he found Collins sweeping broken glass off the floor. Police say a 14-year-old girl tried to call for help but her mother's boyfriend threw the phone in the trash and then threw a beer and toaster at the teenager.
Investigators say they found more signs of abuse after talking to Collins’ children. "They were severely bruised and there were a number of children involved," Christian County Prosecutor Ron Cleek said. Police say a 14-year-old girl, 7-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy badly were bruised from being spanked with a board. "The board allegedly used had staples in it," Cleek said.
No one answered the door at the couple's Ozark home on west Church Street. Police say Collins threatened to move out of state to avoid cooperating in the case. She is charged with child endangerment for not stopping the alleged abuse, refusing to send her children to be interviewed at the child advocacy center and not getting the kids medical treatment. Collins declined to comment on the case. Police say she moved to Stone County right after the investigation started.
According to court documents the board used to spank the kids was 1’ 5” foot by 2.5” wide. The documents don't show how thick the board was. Collins' boyfriend Michael Kuster now faces two counts of child abuse. Prosecutors say pictures of the children's injuries prove the spankings were more than punishment.
“In the old days they would use a switch, in the old days they might use a strap, in the old days they may use a number of things but this was not a thin board by any stretch of the imagination,” Cleek said.
A children's division worker assigned to the case says Collins would not meet during scheduled appointments and disconnected her phone.
Police say the children had bruising that appeared to be in different stages which Indicated the bruises occurred at different times.
Back in the olden days, that was called the “Board of Education” and was used by Sister Gabrielle. It even had holes for less wind resistance.
“....and then threw a beer and toaster at the teenager.”
I just TELL my kids to go get me another beer. And make me some toast while you’re at it!
It is getting to the point where I don’t even want to read most articles .. “Not” due to subject matter but .. due to the poorly written articles themselves!
One of my sister’s live-in studs beat the hell out of her 4-year old son after stripping him naked. My sister watched while her son pleaded that she make the man stop hurting him.
My parents and I eventually sued for custody. It is difficult to wrest custody from either parent, but sperm-donor-dad is a heroin addict. And mom valued sex and drugs more than her son.
Nine years of therapy helped. The boy is now 18-years old and knows that he did nothing wrong to deserve the treatment he got from his parents. He realizes both are severely flawed human beings. It is amazing that he treats them civilly but refuses to be suckered. I am so pleased.
My reason for relating this is that the Collin’s children can be helped but they must be taken away from their mother. She is definitely unfit and belongs is jail.
My Mom had a riding crop. Jeeze oh wheeze! That thing hurt! Only got it twice, and once was cuz I got blamed for something my Sister did. Oh well, I learned to not screw up!
My Dad had a three foot shoehorn on a spring. He got it to help put his shoes on after a diagnosis of arthritis.
I only got it once too. MAN!
Did the mom go to the clink?
Hope so.
I believe white trash would be an appropriate term for this couple. Let’s beat them with a baseball bat full of nails.
My mother used to make me go out and get the switch to beat me with, and if it wasn’t big enough, she’d go out and get the whole tree. - Richard Pryor.
And just to make you feel better, I have a nephew who was also abused by a “stepdad”. Horribly.
He is now 32, with a wife and four kids (the youngest named after me). Even with the abuse, they can turn out just fine.
He still doesn’t speak to his mother.
Someone should use the boards on the two morons so they get a taste of it.
The holes also provided “edge effect”, an enviro-liberal term I borrowed to describe the stretching of skin at the hole.
Turns out the “Board of Education” was actually quite a sophisticated tool, developed over a long time less by theoretical science than the accumulated experience of generations of educators and parents.
WOW! Who knew?
that is a sad story.
And a tough decision for your parents
It’s always the boyfriend. How can any mother put her boyfriend ahead of her own kids, I’ll never understand. If anyone ever hurt my daughter, I’d kill them with my bare hands.
“Mother’s boyfriend...” is a leading culprit in a tremendous number of abuse stories.
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