Two parents in Oklahoma pressed charges against an elementary school principal after finding bruises on their children's bodies, reported Fox 43 News.
Gary Gunckel, the principal at Indianola Public School, swatted two children after they were sent to his office for arguing.
The parents complained saying their kids had "trouble sitting [and] standing." They also noted that they found welts on their skin.
"Whether it's child abuse or assault, anytime there's visible marks or a sign of an assault, then, you know, parents were demanding that charges be filed," Sheriff Chris Morris said. "They felt that their children were spanked too hard, and we've got a job to do, and we investigate it, and we forward everything to the district attorney."
The faculty is allowed to give swats to students on the rear end as a disciplinary practice at Indianola Public Schools, but in this case, the parents felt that Gunckel went too far.
One of the parents said that the process was "frustrating" and the swatting policy "does not have the children best interest in mind."
Gunckel apologized to the parents saying, "They were supposed to hurt so that [the student] would remember not to do what [they] were doing anymore."
