Adrian Peterson Indicted For Beating 4-Year-Old Son Violently With Belt
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Viking’s star running back, has been arrested by Texas police over allegations of reckless and negligent injury to a child, his child.
According to ABC News, Peterson apparently beat his son so hard with a belt that the child suffered injuries over a majority of his body, some of them pretty nasty ones.
Nevertheless, even though Peterson has been “deselected” from playing football today he has not been suspended by either his team or the NFL, with NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy saying that Peterson’s case “will be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.”
According to Adrian Peterson’s attorney, Russ Hardin, the NFL star surrendered to law enforcement without a fight and said he was using his judgement as a responsible parent who was disciplining his son.
But Peterson’s 4-year-old son may disagree as he reportedly sustained numerous injuries after Peterson spanked him with a belt. His injuries were bad enough that the child’s mother reportedly took him to two doctors who suspected physical abuse and alerted the police.
Peterson said following his indictment by a Montgomery County grand jury that he never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets that unintentional injury, as Hardin told reporters,.
“Adrian is a loving father who used his judgment 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.”
According to a TMZ report, the Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney, Phil Grant, said at a news conference that the jury found that the disciplining went beyond what is considered “reasonable.” Grant said,
“In the state of Texas, there is a defense to injury to a child and that is reasonable discipline. Obviously parents are entitled to discipline their children as they see fit, except when that discipline exceeds what the community would say is reasonable.”
Adrian Peterson has been with the NFL for eight years, all of them with the Vikings. He is considered by many to be the best running back in the league, having rushed for 10,190 yards and 86 touchdowns in his career.
