PEA RIDGE, Ark. — A Pea Ridge man has been arrested and accused of battering his child with a wooden paddle.
According to a court affidavit, the mother of a 4-year-old child called a Pea Ridge police officer about bruises on the child's backside that the boy's father caused.
Upon further investigation into the incident, investigators discovered that 28-year-old Christopher Foster, a jailer at the Benton County Jail, used a paddle described as a "wooden masher" by the child to spank them after getting in trouble.
A forensic nurse with the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Little Flock examined the child's injuries. Bruising that had begun to heal was located on the child.
During the CAC interview, the child stated that "He spanked me so hard a lot of times, and he broke it (paddle)." During an interview about the incident with police, Foster denied breaking the paddle while spanking the child but said it broke when he threw it out of anger before spanking the minor.
Foster told police during the interview that he spanked the child two or three times with his bare hand and that his hand stung afterward. He said he immediately "regretted" it and was emotional when talking with his girlfriend about what happened.
He agreed to turn over the paddle to investigators. Foster described it as being about eight inches long and about two inches wide and that it expanded out like a typical paddle.
Investigators examined the paddle and observed a chip in it that Foster described as being caused by throwing it. Investigators also noted what appeared to be remnants of glue at one end while the other end had no substance on it. Investigators noted in the affidavit that this suggests that an additional portion of the paddle was not surrendered, however, this has not been confirmed.
Based on evidence collected during the investigation, Foster has been charged with felony 2nd-degree domestic battering and 3rd-degree endangering a minor's welfare, a misdemeanor.
Foster resigned from his position at the Benton County Jail, the Benton County Sheriff's Office told 5NEWS.
A $1,500 bond has been set for him, and a court date in April has been scheduled.
Foster has been ordered to have no contact with the victim until further notice.
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