(Stillwater, Okla.) – A Stillwater man accused of using unreasonable force on a 5-year-old male relative by hitting him with a military-style canvas belt that left significant bruising has been ordered to appear in court on April 2 on a child abuse charge.
The boy and his sister have been placed in the custody of a couple at the Meadows of Hope in Lincoln County, according to an affidavit by Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy David Sloan.
If convicted of child abuse, Matthew Christopher Pullen, 26, could be given as much as a life prison term, court records show. Pullen remains free on $5,000 bail, court records show.
Pullen was arrested at 10:40 p.m. on March 5 at his rural Stillwater home, the deputy’s affidavit said.
The sheriff’s deputy was called to assist a state Department of Human Services worker, who said that the boy’s mother observed the spanking and “stated it was bad,” the affidavit alleged.
Photos of the boy’s injuries showed “on the front, side and back of (the boy’s) right leg multiple dark-colored bruises. One area of (the boy’s) right leg that was bruised had two bruises that went approximately halfway around the front, outside and back of (the boy’s) leg,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“The bruises that I observed in the photos were not consistent with a discipline spanking,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
The boy also had a red mark on his chest and light bruising on the front of his left thigh, the affidavit said.
Pullen told the deputy that the boy “had been getting into trouble a lot in the past few weeks,” including a week earlier when he was caught stealing money from his teacher’s purse at school, the affidavit alleged.
Pullen said the boy’s toys and television privileges were taken away, the affidavit said.
On March 4 at about 8 p.m., the boy and his sister were in bed in their respective bedrooms when Pullen said he heard the boy call for his sister, the affidavit said.
“Pullen stated he went into (the boy’s) room and told him he was going to get five swats with the belt,” the affidavit alleged.
“Pullen stated he told (the boy) to bend over and was attempting to spank (the boy) on the buttocks area,” when the boy began to roll over and Pullen struck him four times with the belt on the thigh area, the affidavit alleged.
Asked what type of belt he used, “Pullen lifted his sweatshirt and stated ‘this one that I’m wearing,’ a military-style canvas belt, often worn with the Army combat uniform, the affidavit alleged.
“I informed Pullen I wore a similar-style belt and could not see how he could cause that much bruising unless he was using excessive force,” while striking the boy, the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“I informed Pullen I was placing him under arrest for domestic violence,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
Payne County Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler ordered the removal of the boy and his sister from the residence, the affidavit said. The children were then placed in the custody of a couple with Meadows of Hope, the affidavit said.
***
