Legal Question in Family Law in California

Corporal punishment, child abuse...whatever the term, he was wrong

Hello - my son's father was at our house for his 11th birthday, and disciplined him for playing rough with another child and took him into my bedroom and pushed him so hard into a door (causing a loud bang as he was slammed against the door, I went to look and see what was going on), my son was crouched halfway down, and he was twisting on his arm and yelling at him. I stopped them. I want him to attend anger mgmt class, as this is not the first time he has been physical with our son, and CPS was reported the first time. His father argues that no physical harm was done, that he was disciplining him...but I believe he is too aggressive and rough....is this corporal punishment or abuse and would I have a case? Thanks


Asked on 9/11/07, 10:26 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Anne Marie Healy Law Offices of Anne Marie Healy

Re: Corporal punishment, child abuse...whatever the term, he was wrong

This is not corporal punishment. This is abuse. You can file an OSC and ask the court that he be ordered to take parenting classes and anger management classes. You should also report it to CPS. If you do nothing and CPS finds out about it, CPS could say that you failed to protect your child.

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Answered on 9/12/07, 11:07 am
Lyle Johnson Bedi and Johnson Attorneys at Law

Re: Corporal punishment, child abuse...whatever the term, he was wrong

If you take immediate action to stop unsupervised visits, it is not necessary to involve CPS. A call to CPS from a parent is often not given much credibility. An OSC requesting a temporary restraining order stopping visits should protect you and your son. Depending upon the particular county you live in and the procedure there may be an emergency screening which will bring out the problem. A lack of action on your part will place you at risk of losing your child.

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Answered on 9/26/07, 9:58 pm


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