Babysitting dad beat 3-year-old son for allegedly breaking his iPod charger (Collingwood Park, Australia)

Mom was working while UNNAMED DAD was child minding.

http://www.gympietimes.com.au/story/2011/09/22/ipod-cord-used-to-beat-child/

Toddler lashed with iPod cord
Kate Lemmon | 22nd September 2011

A MAN repeatedly whipped his three-year-old son with the cord of an iPod charger because he believed the child had broken it.

The boy was heard screaming and crying in his bedroom as the father inflicted the lashing on the tot's legs and torso, leaving numerous welts and marks.

When asked how the marks got there the toddler told his mother and police: "Dad did it with the iPod cord".

The boy's mother, who was at a work function when the beating occurred, had noticed welts when she arrived home and questioned her partner as to what happened.

She took photos of the injuries while her partner was asleep and showed them to police.

Magistrate Michael Quinn said it was obvious from the photos that the injuries were extreme.

"You hit a defenceless and powerless three-year-old in your care - a child you were responsible to care for and protect," Mr Quinn told the man.

"You used an electrical cord to cause considerable pain on a defenceless three-year-old, who can be seen to be wearing nappies.

"This is a most serious charge and this sort of disciplining can't be accepted in any community."

Police Prosecutor Senior Constable Brad Dick said the man told police his actions were "caused by the pressures of domestic life".

Defence lawyer Shay Duce said her client was extremely remorseful.

"He has seen a GP for referral to psychological counselling, and has complied with orders regarding supervised contact with his child," Ms Duce said.

The Collingwood Park man made full admissions about the whipping when questioned by police on August 24.

The 36-year-old man plead guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and was sentenced to six months in prison, wholly suspended for 12 months.