A Grovetown man whipped his young boys so hard with a belt this week that his own wife turned him in for child abuse.
The children, ages 3 and 5, were left with red strike marks across their entire bodies, Grovetown Lt. Brad Powell said.
“The 3 year old had a belt mark on his face – like directly on his face,” Lt. Powell told The Jail Report.
Paul Colohan, 35, of the 1100 block of Lakeside Drive, was charged with two counts of cruelty to children – causing excessive physical or mental pain. Police described him as an unemployed, stay-at-home dad.
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The children’s mother came home Sunday afternoon after working all day and found a welt on her youngest boy’s face. The older child told her he got the mark from “struggling while receiving a spanking,” according to a police report.
She then called police, who saw “red strike marks” to the older boy’s chest, which “appeared to come from multiple strikes from multiple directions.” He also had injuries to his lower back, buttock, legs and arms.
On the younger boy, the officer noted marks on the boy’s face “starting around his forehead area and running across his eye, nose and cheek.” He also had bruises on his back, arm and legs.
The officers confronted Mr. Colohan, who admitting hitting the children with the belt he was wearing. Officers told him to remove it and he gave them the belt, a black Dickies leather belt with a silver metal buckle. The size of the buckle matched the bruises, police said.
The mother told officers she was taking the children to Doctors Hospital. The boys were examined and released, and the injuries should not be permanent, Lt. Powell said.
The Department of Family and Children Services was also notified.
