A messy divorce and disagreement over who should be staying in the family home prompted a call to Lawrence County deputies after a mother said she was worried about her children — and accused her husband of striking their 5-year-old son.
Deputies responded to a Proctorville residence after the woman reported that her husband had shown up at the apartment and refused to leave. She also alleged that he had been harassing and threatening members of her family.
According to the sheriff’s report, the couple is going through a divorce and their living arrangements have shifted over the summer. The father cared for the children while the mother spent about three weeks in the United Kingdom. More recently, he had moved back into the residence to help with the children while the couple worked through their divorce.
The latest dispute began after the mother spent several days at her own mother’s home in Ashland and returned home. She told deputies she asked her husband to leave, but he refused.
The situation became more serious when she told deputies that the father had allegedly struck their 5-year-old son sometime during the previous two days.
Deputies spoke with one of the older children, with the mother’s permission. The child said she was inside the residence when the incident happened but was upstairs and did not actually witness it.
A deputy examined the 5-year-old’s upper body and back with his mother’s permission and reported seeing no visible redness, scrapes or bruising. The mother said the boy had told her his father struck him on the leg. The deputy noted that he did not have the mother remove the boy’s pants to examine his leg, and she did not report seeing a visible injury there.
Father Admits Striking Son
When deputies spoke with the father, the report says he admitted striking the child, but said he had not hit him hard because the boy was recovering from a broken collarbone.
Lawrence County Child Protective Services was contacted, and an on-call worker spoke with both parents. According to the report, CPS planned to request an investigation into the allegations.
The father agreed to leave the residence, and the children remained with their mother.
The mother provided a written statement, and the deputy said the encounter was recorded on body camera.
No arrest was reported in connection with the incident.
