Legal Question in Family Law in Missouri
I have primary custody of my two boys ages 7 and 5. I live in the state of Missouri. Their mother sees them every other weekend rest of the time they are with me. I recently found out that her new boyfriend has been spanking my children and although it is not defined in our divorce decree that no corprol punishment would be used we had an understanding between us that significant others would not be allowed to physically punish the children. I let both of them know that i was not comfortable with this type of behavior happening and that if a spanking was deserved that my ex wife should be the one doing it since she is the parent. Lets just say the response was not what i expected. The boyfriend said how do i get them to listen if i dont spank them thats what i do to my son. I responded with when i need to discipline them they are sent to their room for 5ish minutes and then allowed to come out when they agree they will listen to the directions. However I am not against spanking and in the past i have spanked them but it is usually one swat on the butt with open hand through their pants. The boys told me he pulls down their pants and spanks them based on their age. The boyfriend did admit to doing this and says thats how he treats his son so he should be able to do it to my kids as well. I again explained im not comfortable with this and asked him not to spank my children again. What i wanted to know is is there anything i can do if they do not comply with my wishes since i am the father and the primary parent? also I am recording everything my boys tell me and i will be taking pictures etc if i ever find bruises.
1 Answer from Attorneys
That is child abuse. Tell the pervert/weirdo that you are calling the police the next time it happens and you will call the DFS child abuse hotline. Tell them both that your wife could lose her right to see the children at all.
In addition to criminal charges, tell them that you are going to sue them both for assault and battery.
If you would like for this information to be sent to them in the form of a letter from an attorney, please let me know.
Sorry about your situation. Hope this helps.
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