A Salmon Arm couple has been found guilty of assault with a weapon after they spanked their teenage daughter. The charges were laid after the father hit the 14-year-old girl with a mini plastic hockey stick and her mother hit her with a skipping rope in February of 2015.
According to evidence presented at trial, they were spanking their daughter after the dad found text messages that said the teen had sent naked photos of herself to a guy.
The parents each pled not guilty to the assault charge.
The father took the stand and, “he testified that the hand is used for compassion and love, not discipline as a result of his belief he does not use his hand only when applying corporal punishment. In other words, the father believes that an object, not the hand, must be used when administering discipline,” wrote Judge E.F. De Walle in his reasons for judgment.
More than a week later a doctor found evidence of bruises on the girl’s buttocks.
The judge acknowledged that sexting by young people is worrisome but found that the spankings were aimed at punishing the teen rather than correcting her.
“In this day and age any reasonable parent would be concerned about a teenager sending nude pictures of him or herself via a cell phone or any other electronic device. The pitfalls and potential dangers of such activities are well reported. Such behaviours can lead to bullying and even suicide,” wrote De Walle.
“To suggest that responding to such acts by a teenaged daughter, (14 going on 15 years), by spanking her with an object would be educative or corrective is simply not believable or acceptable by any measure of current social consensus.”
He also points out that a parent’s beliefs don’t override the law in this type of case and concludes that the spankings were unreasonable.
“I refer to the use of weapons, namely the plastic mini hockey stick and the skipping rope, in applying force to the complainant. I also note that she suffered injuries that, in my view, were not of a transitory or trifling nature. The manner in which the parents used force and the injuries that resulted, lead me to conclude that the spanking in this case amounted to excessive corporal punishment,” wrote De Walle.
The parents face a maximum sentence of 18 months. No date for sentencing has been set.
Kelowna criminal lawyer Clarke Burnett says the law is clear on corporal punishment.
Burnett explains the action must be corrective or educational.
Comments