A Woodstock teenager was beaten because he said he was too tired to go to church, according to police.
The 17-year-old boy was beaten with a belt by his mother, Lolita Smith, 48, of Woodstock, for not wanting to attend church because he had awoken early to walk the dog, according to a police report.
Smith has been charged with simple battery and criminal trespassing. Police were dispatched to Water Ridge Court in Woodstock in the late morning of July 16, according to the police report, which said the victim was "extremely upset and crying a lot."
"She just wouldn't stop hitting me," the boy said in the police report.
Officer E.B. Maddox reported that the boy ran to a lower level bedroom to hide from his mother when she started beating him. She followed, broke down the door and did extensive damage to the door frame. When the officer examined the teenager, he noticed bruising and welts appearing on his right arm.
While Maddox was speaking with the victim, Smith came out of the house but did not want to speak with the police.
"I am not here to talk, I am here to close the garage door," she said to Maddox.
Maddox reported that Smith went back into the home and continued to act irrationally. He continually asked her to calm down so she could tell her side of the story. Smith was eventually handcuffed and led to the police car, while she continually called Maddox an "S.O.B"
Barbara Jacoby, spokeswoman for Cherokee County Schools could not to be reached for comment, but the Cherokee Tribune reported that Smith is a speech pathologist who works in the district office.
Police have responded to four domestic dispute calls at Smith's home since 2010 -- two in 2010 and two in 2011, said Vicki Kull, records coordinator for Cherokee County.
Smith was transported to the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center. The teen remained at the residence with his stepfather.
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