Adrian Peterson Turns Himself In On Child Abuse Allegations

Adrian Peterson has turned himself into Houston authorities on charges of alleged child abuse.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has been deactivated for this Sunday’s game when allegations arose that he beat his 4-year-old son with a switch twice last May.

In police reports it was noted that Adrian sent a text message to the boy’s mother which started the chain of events.

“Got him in the nuts once I noticed,” Adrian texted the unidentified mom. “But I felt so bad, n I’m all tearing that butt up when needed! I start putting them in timeout. N save the whooping for needed memories!”

The boy was reportedly being disciplined for pushing another child off a motorbike video game.

Adrian grabbed a switch – a thin flexible tree branch – removed the leaves, stuffing them into the boy’s mouth. Then he proceeded to spank the child with the switch.

The child also suffered cuts and bruises to his ankles and legs, as well as defensive wounds to his hands.

In subsequent texts, Adrian told her: “Never do I go overboard! But all my kids will know, hey daddy has the biggie [sic] heart but don’t play no games when it comes to acting right.”

The bruised boy allegedly told cops, “Daddy Peterson hit me on my face.”

The boy also said he was scared that Peterson would punch him in the face if he spoke to authorities. Cops said the boy told them he had been hit with a belt and that “there are a lot of belts in Daddy’s closet.”

Adrian “likes belts and switches” and “has a whooping room,” the child later told his mom.

Several lacerations can be seen on the child’s hand and thigh in photos released by the Houston Police Department.

When the boy returned to his mom in Minnesota, she saw the bruises and cuts and sent him to a doctor.

Texas authorities were then notified of the alleged child abuse.

Peterson admitted to cops that he had “whooped” his son, but as a last resort – and even showing them a switch similar to the one he used.

He also fessed up to beating the boy a second time for scratching his 5-year-old son’s face and incredibly told cops he didn’t know how much damage he was causing because the boy never cried.

“Anytime I spank my kids, I talk to them before, let them know what they did, and of course after,” he told police.

“To be honest with you, I feel very confident with my actions because I know my intent,” he told authorities. He also said he’d never “eliminate whooping my kids,” saying that getting spanked himself has “helped me in my life.”

After Texas authorities launched an investigation, a Montgomery County grand jury indicted Peterson Friday on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child.

His attorney Rusty Hardin defended the Vikings star as 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 has experience as a child growing up in east Texas,” said Hardin. “Adrian has never hidden from what happened.”

Friends, you may remember that last year, Peterson’s 2-year-old son was tragically beaten to death by the boyfriend of the tot’s mom. Peterson had never met the child and only learned he existed a few weeks prior to his death.

This is not a good week for the NFL. This of course comes days after a video surfaced showing Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice beating his then-fiancee in an elevator in Atlantic City.

See Adrian’s attorney statement below.

My two-cents:  IDK.  I don’t know how I feel about this.  Shoving leaves into the mouth  .. def overboard. But I do believe spare the rod, spoil the child.  And yes, I was disciplined with a switch and I NEVER EVER felt like it was anything close to abuse.  I’m reserving judgment on this one. I need more info. 

 

Adrian Peterson’s lawyer has released a statement. pic.twitter.com/tsQ4fe2T93

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 12, 2014