Dad who seriously beat 8-year-old son says he's a "good parent" (Gainesville, Florida)

Memo to UNNAMED DAD: "Good parents" don't assault their kids and leave them with severe welts and bruising. No mention of a mother in this home. Is this a single dad?

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20111209/ARTICLES/111209569


Police: Father beats son, says trying to be good parent
By Karen Voyles
Staff writer

Published: Friday, December 9, 2011 at 8:42 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, December 9, 2011 at 8:42 a.m.

A Gainesville man suspected of beating his 8-year-old son told police he was trying to be a good parent.

In an arrest report filed Thursday, Officer Kelvin Walker wrote that the back of the boy’s legs and buttocks were covered in severe red, black, and blue bruises and welts.

Walker also wrote that when he showed the 41-year-old father a photo of the marks apparently left by his leather belt, the father “agreed that is was abusive but stated he is only trying to be the best parent he can be.”

The boy told investigators that he was beaten Tuesday because he had been disruptive at school.

The incident this week marked the second time the father has been investigated for the treatment of his son. Police said the man was also investigated in Maine three years ago for marks found on the boy’s neck. The outcome of the Maine investigation was not immediately known, police said.

The father was booked into the Alachua County jail on a charge of child abuse.