Dad accused of punching daughter in the mouth for "C" (Crestview, Florida)

Silly me. I always thought you encouraged academic achievement in your kids by reading to them from an early age, demonstrating to them that you value education and life-long learning yourself, teaching them study skills, and all that good stuff. Now I find out from Dad SEBASTIAN JON HEATLEY that I had it all wrong. You just need to punch your kid in the mouth with a closed fist instead....

http://www.crestviewbulletin.com/news/accused-8703-daughter-punching.html

Father accused of punching daughter after she earned a “C” in class
February 06, 2010 5:00 AM
Michael Stewart

A Crestview man faces a charge of child abuse and is accused of slapping his daughter and punching her in the mouth after she brought home a report card with “C” grade on it.

Sebastian Jon Heatley, 44, was charged with cruelty to a child, abuse without great harm and domestic violence. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 2.

Police responded to a call in the 200 block of Trish Drive on Jan. 28, where they found Heatley’s daughter “upset and crying,” according to an arrest report.

The right side of her face was slightly swollen and “her lip was split and bleeding,” the report states.

The girl, whose age was not provided, told police her father confronted her about her about a “C” she had earned at school.

“He began yelling at her how she was never going to graduate and she was not good enough,” the report states.

The girl told the arresting officer her father shoved her against a wall, slapped her several times with an open hand and hit her in the mouth with a closed fist.

According to the report, Heatley admitted to striking his daughter after she began using foul language.

“He stated every time she used a curse word, he struck her in the mouth,” the report states. “…I agree. Tonight…things got out of hand. I didn’t really mean to hurt my child.”