Police say an Elizabethtown man called Child Protective Services to turn himself in after he spanked a 3-year-old so hard he left bruising.
According to an arrest report, 32-year-old Derek Thompson called Child Protective Services sometime around 7 p.m. Tuesday to report that he'd spanked his girlfriend's son at around noon, and afterward, he noticed that he'd left several red marks and bruises on the child's rear end.
An officer with the Elizabethtown Police Department met with Thompson at his home in Elizabethtown.
Thompson told the officer he'd spanked the child four or five times, according to an arrest report.. The officer looked at the bruising and said that it was "still significant."
Thompson was arrested and charged with third-degree criminal abuse of a child, a misdemeanor.
John Thomas, a spokesperson for the Elizabethtown Police Department, says calls like Thompson's are extremely rare, calling it an "unusual twist."
“I've never personally seen a child abuse defendant call social services to report his own abuse," Thomas said. He added that, “I believe that is commendable that the suspect took the steps to try to rectify his very serious mistake.”