Dad arrested for battering 3-year-old son, all because he didn't like boy's "sentence structure" (Middletown, Indiana)

In addition to being a self-appointed member of the Grammar Police/SWAT Division, is dad KENNETH R. WEBB a custodial father? Notice that there is NO mention of a mother in the home or anywhere else, and that the child is now in the custody of "a grandparent." What happened to the mother of this child? How did the abusive daddy manage to strip her of custody? Who supported that decision? Oh wait. This is Indiana, where the fathers rights movement is especially powerful....

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20130904/NEWS01/309040009/

Dad arrested after grammar lesson turns violent

Sep. 4, 2013 2:12 AM

Written by Douglas Walker

MIDDLETOWN — Police say a Henry County father became violent while trying to improve his 3-year-old son’s grammar. Kenneth R. Webb, 29, 4433 N. Raider Road, Middletown, was charged Monday with neglect of a dependent, a Class C felony carrying a standard four-year prison term, and battery resulting in bodily injury to a person under the age of 14, a Class D felony with a standard 18-month sentence.

According to reports by the Henry County sheriff’s department, police were notified last week that Webb had repeatedly struck the child in the face, causing “bruising and physical pain.”

In an interview with investigators, Webb reportedly acknowledged he had slapped the boy “more than once” because the youngster “wouldn’t look him in the eye as he talked.”

Asked what he was trying to discuss with the 3-year-old, Webb reportedly said the topic was “sentence structure,” adding that he was trying to persuade the child to begin questions with “May I please...”

Webb said he later realized he had struck the boy “too hard and had left slap marks across his face on both sides,” an officer wrote.

Police were notified of the incident by Child Protective Services officials. The boy — who was treated at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis — was placed in the custody of a grandparent, reports said.

An initial hearing for Webb — released from the Henry County jail last Friday after posting bond — is set for Sept. 16 in Henry Circuit Court 1.

Court records reflect no prior charges or convictions for the Middletown man.