A Douglasville, Ga., father has been charged with first-degree child cruelty after forcing his teen son to carry a 23-pound landscape stone on a 3-mile hike, 11 Alive reports.
The 40-year-old veteran, identified as Charlie Mayes, had no criminal record and openly admitted to the police that he was using the military-style punishment because his son watched too many videos and didn’t do his chores or schoolwork, the news site notes.
"This was done multiple times over a three-day period, sometimes as early as 3 o'clock in the morning," Police Sgt. Todd Garner told 11Alive about the incident.
"In between that time, he was at home having to move rocks and stuff from one side of the back yard to the other, and then being taken right back out to the same location and dropped off and made to walk back again," Garner said.
According to 11 Alive, the teenager was small, standing just over 4 feet. It was a pizza-delivery driver who contacted authorities about the punishment.
As for the father, “he did not feel that this was inappropriate at all, and neither did his wife,” Garner told 11 Alive.
Mayes has been released on a $3,500 bond.
Read more at 11 Alive.