Cortez man not guilty on child

Cortez man not guilty on child-abuse charge

July 14, 2001

by Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

A Cortez man who struck his 7-year-old son with a belt for refusing to read was acquitted of child abuse Thursday in Montezuma County Court.

The jury of four women and two men deliberated less than 20 minutes about the accusations that Marty Robbins had gone too far by spanking his son with a belt on Aug. 30, 2000, and found him not guilty of one count of Class 1 misdemeanor child abuse causing injury.

"He was doing his best to be a good father under the circumstances," said defense attorney Patrick Sheeran. "It was appropriate discipline and his (the child’s) behavior changed for the better."

Prosecutor Brian Rossiter told the jurors they were not there to decide whether spanking was wrong but rather to determine if the reason for spanking was wrong.

"He went one step beyond what a parent should do," Rossiter charged.

During opening statements Rossiter alleged that the 7-year-old, who had just returned home from his first day of school, was attempting to read a passage but was having difficulty "getting it right."

Rossiter said that each time the boy made a mistake or "got stuck," he was whipped with a belt by his father.

"The victim was a little boy who was just trying to show what he did at school," Rossiter said. "Once he got it right, he was allowed to put the belt away."

However, the defense characterized the situation as a father disciplining a child who was behaving in a stubborn and defiant manner.

"The child said, ‘I can’t read it and I won’t read it,’ " Sheeran stated.

The defense explained the spanking took place only after two trips to stand in a corner failed to alter the child’s attitude.

"Like a good father, Mr. Robbins gave him some chances. . . it didn’t do any good," Sheeran said.

The child’s mother, Franki Robbins, testified that she had stopped by her son’s school and heard about the spanking. She said she saw welts and bruises on her son’s legs where he had allegedly been struck with the belt.

Social-services workers were called in and the police were notified. When police contacted Robbins at his home, he allowed them to enter without a search warrant, gave them the belt, and admitted he had spanked his son.

"All along he’s tried to be a good parent and a good citizen," Sheeran said of Robbins’ willingness to cooperate with the police.

Franki Robbins and Marty Robbins are divorced and share joint custody of their two children.

The boy was allowed to testify via a recorded disposition, but his statements shed little light on the events that took place nearly a year ago.

Rossiter dismissed the lack of compelling testimony on the boy’s part as a situation where a child says he does not remember because he doesn’t want to talk about what happened.

Pictures of the boy’s bruised legs were admitted into evidence during Franki Robbins’ testimony.

"The father whipped the child for his own gratification," Rossiter claimed.

But the defense maintained that the discipline was appropriate.

"A parent has the right to apply physical force to a child," Sheeran stated. "The discipline was for the child’s own good."