A Maricopa man is accused of aggravated assault and child abuse after allegedly hitting a child with a hanger.
Wellington Pyne, 38, was arrested Monday at home on Starlight Drive in Maricopa Meadows after Maricopa Police Department received a domestic-violence call around 1 p.m. A witness described as a stepchild accused Pyne of “always beating the children with broken hangers,” according to the police report.
In Monday’s incident, the reporting party claimed Pyne had beaten his biological child with a hanger for “peeing on the floor inside the house.” Though the witness did not see the interaction between Pyne and the child, the witness alleged to have heard about 10 strikes and the sound of crying.
An investigating officer reported seeing “multiple injuries” to the child’s bottom and back. The injuries were described as fresh and raised on the skin surface. “The injuries appeared consistent with the shape of the hanger that was found,” the report states.
A witness told police Pyne hit the child with a “pink stick” several times, a stick later identified as the hanger.
Pyne told police he was upset about the peeing incident and spanked the child on the bottom with an open hand two or three times while the child was wearing jean shorts. He denied ever using a hanger for discipline and said the child’s injuries came from rough-housing with the other children.
The hanger was photographed and taken as evidence. Pyne was taken into custody and booked at the Pinal County Jail in Florence.
REALLY, disciplining a child with a coat hanger? Is that any more severe than spanking a child with an open hand? I don’t think so. Yes, it is aggravating to have a child ‘pee’ on the floor but if the child has the ability to go to the proper place and is just lazy, then discipline is called for. However, if the inflicting causes great injury, then that is not OK.