A Kentucky man has been charged with child abuse after authorities say he punished his two children by forcing them to do pushups for 30 minutes straight and making them eat soap.
James Pal Kidwell, 40, of Mount Vernon, was booked into the Rockcastle County Detention Center on a charge of first-degree criminal abuse of a child. Jail records showed he remained there Friday in lieu of $10,000 bond.
WKYT in Lexington reported that Kidwell was arrested Monday on allegations that he abused his two children, ages 11 and 13, for breaking rules and talking back. One form of the alleged abuse was 30 continuous minutes of pushups, during which one of the children suffered rug burns.
One of the children also developed mouth sores after Kidwell allegedly made them eat soap, the news station reported. Kidwell also left a bruise on one child's chest after punching him.
Police officials said Kidwell would also force the children to stand a couple of steps away from a wall and lean into the wall with their foreheads. They were forced to stand like that for 30 minutes, authorities said.
The alleged abuse was ongoing over a span of about four days, WKYT reported.
It was not clear how police officials learned of the incidents.
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