Dad charged with whipping kids with belt for changing TV channel (Roseville, Minnesota

Dad STANLEY C. OGBONNA has been charged with two counts of malicious punishment of a child after he "allegedly" whipped his kids with a belt and a cord for the changing the television from a Christian channel. Notice that the son claims that his father whips him nearly everyday (his injuries back this up), and that there is no mention of a mother in this home. Why? Isn't there one? If not, does Daddy have custody or what?

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.

http://www.startribune.com/local/east/119257169.html

Charges: Roseville man whips his kids with belt for changing TV channel
by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune Updated: April 5, 2011 - 11:20 AM
A Roseville man whipped his 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son with a belt and a cord for changing the television from a Christian channel and then lying about it, according to a criminal complaint.

Stanley C. Ogbonna, 37, was charged Friday by summons with two counts of malicious punishment of a child, a gross misdemeanor, and ordered to appear in court on April 28.

According to the charges:

On Dec. 13, a social worker for Central Park Elementary School in Roseville told police about marks discovered on a female student's arm. The complaint listed "large welts on her right forearm, as well as bruises and marks on her left arm, right shoulder and behind her ear."

The girl told the officer that her father struck her several times with a belt and a cord for changing the TV channel in their apartment.

The officer then spoke with the girl's brother, who said his father whipped him with a belt or a cord nearly every day. A medical evaluation found wounds on both children indicating that they both had been whipped by their father over a length of time.

A day later, Ogbonna told police that he became angry after noticing that the TV was no longer on a Christian channel. He added that both children lied about the channel being switched. While acknowledging striking his daughter with a cord about the head or neck, he denied striking the children at other times.