Adrian Peterson Indicted On Child Abuse, NFL’er Says He Spanked His Son With A Switch

The charged conduct involves using a switch to spank his son. This indictment follows Adrian’s full cooperation with authorities who have been looking into this matter. Adrian is a loving father who used his judgement as a parent to discipline his son. He used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in East Texas. Adrian has never hidden from what happened. He has cooperated fully with authorities and voluntarily testified before the grand jury for several hours. Adrian will address the charges with the same respect and responsiveness he has brought to this inquiry from its beginning. It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury.

Peterson posted the following message on Twitter:

According to ESPN, Peterson has cooperated fully with authorities and voluntarily testified before the grand jury for several hours. In an interview with Houston police, Peterson told them he only used “whoopings” or “spankings” as a last resort and tells his children,

Anytime I spank my kids, I talk to them before, let them know what they did, and of course after.

Peterson also expressed regret that his son did not cry – because then, Peterson said, he would have known that the switch was doing more damage than intended. He didn’t realize the “tip of the switch and the ridges of the switch were wrapping around [the child’s] legs.” Peterson also acknowledged that this was administered directly to the child’s skin and with the child’s pants pulled down. Peterson later told police that the marks on his son’s buttocks were similar to the marks any of his other children get when he “spanks them with a switch“.

Last October, Peterson’s 2-year-old son died in Sioux Falls, after being allegedly assaulted by a man who was dating the boy’s mother. Peterson learned only two months earlier that he was the boy’s father. The man who assaulted the boy, Joseph Robert Patterson, was charged with murder and manslaughter. [ESPN, TMZ] 

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