Horsewhipping children 'normal', father told police

A man who allegedly horsewhipped his children told police his actions were “normal discipline by a father”, a court heard. The defendant, who was reported to police by his seven-year-old son, denies three counts of cruelty to a child and three of assault causing actual bodily harm against their mother. All three children and their grandmother have given evidence to the court, but their mother has refused to take the stand.

In a police interview read to jurors at Cardiff Crown Court the man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told officers: “I have not hit them with a horsewhip. It is called a riding crop, not a horsewhip.” He said he hit them on the hand, usually with his own hand, adding: “I have only used the riding crop once or twice. It is more of a deterrent than a punishment. Why should I not use it? I am disciplining the children, aren’t I?”

He said he did not hit them hard, and dismissed a comment by one of his children that his punishment left a burning sensation and a red mark that lasted half an hour. The court heard how the man’s youngest son called 999 after seeing his mother dragged by her hair, put in a bath of water and put outside the house in her wet clothes.

Pc Mark Shewring, who attended the call, said in written evidence today the two children who answered the door to him looked “absolutely terrified”. He said: “Both children looked very nervous. They were looking over their shoulders anxiously.” He added that when he prepared to leave the house after making his inquiries, the children grabbed his trousers and begged him:“Please don’t go. Please don’t leave us.”

Police said they visited the house on two further occasions, and both times found the children’s mother – who is 20 years younger than her partner – shaking and behaving nervously. Her dentist, Ffion Dewi, described how she had treated her for loosened and chipped teeth after she claimed to have fallen into a bannister.

She said the defendant, who accompanied her on her first of two visits, behaved unusually during the appointment by coming in and out of the room a number of times and even following her when she went to consult a colleague about an x-ray. In his police interview, the defendant explained that he left the surgery twice to go for a walk, but came back to check how long the appointment would last. He also told officers he and his partner had been battling drinking problems, and that she often started the morning with coffee laced with alcohol. The trial continues on Monday.