MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A Myrtle Beach man was charged with child neglect after he disciplined a 5-year-old for killing the family rabbit.
Jonathan Timothy Smith, 34, was booked on Wednesday on a charge of unlawful neglect of child or helpless person by legal custodian.
Horry County police said they were told the boy was found on the floor crying hysterically. Later, when he was given a bath, significant redness and bruising in the shape of a hand was found on the boy’s buttocks, according to the report.
Smith admitted to police he hit the child with an open hand two times on the buttocks as punishment for killing the family’s rabbit, according to the report. Police said Smith told them corporal punishment was the only way to get through to the boy.
Smith was arrested “due to excessive punishment causing bodily harm to the victim,” police said in the report.
Smith was booked at the J Reuben Long Detention Center and released on $10,000 bond.