Posted on 04/30/2005 6:19:34 AM PDT by holymoly
PLYMOUTH - A father who used a belt to spank his 12-year-old son over forgotten homework is facing a felony assault charge and an investigation by the state Department of Social Services.
Charles S. Enloe, 42, of 4 Cortelli Court, Plymouth, hit his son on the buttocks three times with a belt after the boy forgot his homework assignment at school, police said.
He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
Enloe said he was surprised at his arrest, but that he doesn't blame police for doing their job.
‘‘I never knew it would be considered assault with a deadly weapon,'' Enloe said. ‘‘And it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be a crime if it's discipline. I know there are parents out there that abuse their children, but I'm definitely not one of them. But police have to follow the letter of the law. My father was a police officer. I'm not angry at them, and I don't blame my son.''
Enloe said he hopes the courts will dismiss the charge after reviewing the facts. ‘‘I have no previous record,'' he said.
He said his son is still living with him despite the incident. He and the boy's mother are divorced, according to the police.
The mother obtained a restraining order against Enloe on her son's behalf, but the order was temporary and has expired, he said.
‘‘The incident got blown out of proportion,'' Enloe said.
Police Capt. Michael Botieri said officers have more leeway about arresting a parent for domestic violence when an open hand is used for spanking.
‘‘When a parent uses an instrument to discipline, it makes it more difficult for us,'' Botieri said. ‘‘The belt pushed this over the edge.''
The incident happened at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, and left no marks or bruises, according to police.
The Department of Social Services is investigating the complaint after its Cape Cod area office received a report of suspected abuse on Friday. DSS spokeswoman Denise Monteiro said the allegation was made by a person or agency required by law to report any suspected incident of child abuse. She would not identify the person.
Police, teachers, health care workers and clergy are all required to report cases of suspected abuse in Massachusetts.
Monteiro said the case is not considered an emergency and said the DSS has up to 10 days to investigate the report. Monteiro said the department usually interviews family members, the child's pediatrician, school officials, neighbors and others. ‘‘The allegations have to be met with evidence,'' she said.
The boy told police his father hit him with the belt for forgetting his homework, and said he would be hit six times wearing just his underwear if he forgot his homework again, police said.
Fearing the promised punishment, the boy called his mother Wednesday when he forgot his homework a second time, police said.
The boy and his mother, Diana Dematteo of Sandwich, reported the incident to police Wednesday.
Enloe told police he used the belt to ‘‘lightly'' strike the boy three times on the bottom for disciplinary reasons.
His son had improved academically since coming to live with him in March and he ‘‘acted out of love,'' the police report quotes Enloe as saying.
Enloe was arrested and charged at the station.
Enloe pleaded innocent Thursday to the charge and was released on his promise to return to court on June 1.
Monteiro, the DSS spokeswoman, said that under the Massachusetts corporal punishment law, it is not illegal for a guardian to strike a child physically or spank a child so long as the child isn't injured or ‘‘left with a bruise, bumps, cuts and you would also consider the frequency of the punishment.''
In 1997, the Rev. Donald Cobble of Woburn found himself thrust into the national spotlight when his then 9-year-old son, Judah, asked a teacher not to send a note home about his school behavior because he feared that Cobble would spank him with a belt, as he had done before.
The teacher contacted social service workers, who found that this form of discipline posed a ‘‘substantial risk of injury.'' But two years and $62,000 in legal fees later, Cobble's name was removed from the state registry of child abusers after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court exonerated him, saying that Judah suffered only temporary marks as a result of the spanking. The case was closed.
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Massachusetts?
Oh.
I didn't THINK there was a Plymouth in Sweden.
Lord my mother would be on death roww. She used whatever was available at the time, belts, wooden spoons, coat hangers, hairbrushes. You name it we wore it.
Twelve years old is much too young to start treating boys like they are grown men. Thats the problem with them now. Kids are just little mini-adults in the system's eyes.
I am sorry your home situation was abnormal. That happens sometimes, but it shouldn't be used as a gauge. I did not say that twelve year olds can't be respected and learn a great deal from examples, but I will emphatically insist they are not little adults that can grasp and process adult thinking. That's why they have us as fathers and mothers.
Bit of a long story here - when I got divorced, my daughter and I moved in with my parents - she was six, almost seven years old. I believe in spanking - and one night, when she misbehaved, I spanked her. My mother freaked out, and pulled me aside and told me, "Your dad and I spanked you too much as a child, and we're sorry."
I told her the truth - I deserved every ass-whipping I received, and that there were a couple that I didn't get because they didn't know about what I did. I would have been even more of a hellion if they hadn't done that, and while I'm not going to say that I appreciated them at the time, I'm glad they did it now.
If that father would now use his noggin and send the kid back to his mother for keeps, he would be doing the right thing. Better to pay some alimony that put up with that sort of mental anti-father degredation.
Yes, men are living in a United States determined by the femininazis to lower their manhood and their fatherhood. Gad, what a new low blow the United States is undergoing at this time.
I'm 56. My brothers and I always say that, if today's laws were applied to our parents and the level of corporal punishment they meted out to us...they'd STILL be in jail!
Three swats with a leather belt tip?
That was every day.
When we were really bad, we got the "buckle end."
"Twelve years old is way too old to get a spanking with pants dropped-especially for typical goofiness and irresponsibility."
Says who? You?
Ok - I have to tell you about our pastor that retired a few years ago.
He had joined the Marines at age 18, went through Korea, and then when he returned stateside, participated in some of the nuclear testing that they were doing in Nevada. One of the tests had the men in trenches several miles from Ground Zero. After they popped the weapon, the men got out of the trenches and moved in towards Ground Zero.
He says he looked up and saw that rolling, burning cloud above him, and heard the Call - shortly after that, he got out of the Marines, went to seminary, and became a pastor in the Disciples of Christ church.
Now that he's retired, he's also substitute teaching in the local schools - he's been my daughter's substitute on a number of occasions.
When he subs at the high school, and we know how high school kids can act around a substitute teacher, he always makes a special announcement before he begins class:
"Hello - I'm a retired pastor, and a combat Marine - so this class can be heaven, or it can be hell. It's your choice."
He says that he never has a single problem like the other substitutes talk about.
Oh, I forgot -- that's the Italian way (and the weapon of choice and disciplinary action left up to moms)
The Wussification of America continues apace.
a belt is a "deadly" weapon. oh, please.
otoh, 12 is over the age of effectiveness for that style of discipline in my opinion. but that doesn't make it a crime either.
when one of mine was 7 and laughed off a spanking from his mother saying "that didn't hurt"... well lets just say it only happened once.
i think peak spanking effectiveness is at ages up to 8 +/-. after that if you don't have them respectful and honest then you should find a different method.
Three licks with a belt? Oh please. My mom didn't have to get the belt out very often but when she did ....oh boy. Thank God she did though or I might've ended up a druggie or pregnant or a public leech like most of our neighbor's kids.
More examples of liberalism out of control. They are trying to do the exact same thing that the commies did.....take control of children away form the parents and give it to the state.
"I knocked him clear under the kitchen table! A belt was not needed in this situation. He was a heck of a lot more respectful of his mother after that. LOL"
My son could tell you a story much the same...
Right On!I remember a number of occassions where i was "introduced"to my father's belt.He never beat myself or my older brother.I remember the humiliation I felt following one of these sessions and it DEFINITELY had an impact on my future behavior.It was a good,old fashioned"tanning"!
I seem to remember that when I was about 12,this type of punishment no longer seemed necessary.I guess it worked?
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