A stepfather in Texas, Theodore Moody, punished his son for missing a school bus by making him walk to school and zapping him with a 100,000-volt electric stun gun when he slowed down.

When the 8-year-old got to school, he told people that his father shocked him and now his three siblings and himself are in State custody. The gun has also been used on his 11-year-old sister before.

Moody claims he resorted to shocking his son after bruising him with belts and paddles, yet not seeing a change in his behavior.

His wife claims that she seeked behavioral help from the State before with no prevail. While she shrinks away from taking responsibility for her husband using the stun gun on her child, she says it was not abuse.

After having his children taken away from him, both his two biological children and two stepchildren, Moody insists that what he did wasn't inappropriate, but since the authorities believe otherwise, he won't do it again.

I'm speechless.

More here
and here.

Horrible! I'm very glad that those kids are away from him now.

I don't have a source to back this up, but I've heard that Moody has brought a new stun gun after the previous one used on the children has been confiscated.

This father is nuts. He says that he hit his son with a paddle so hard that it cracked a little. That should had also been put under consideration, but I don't think that Texas has an issue of his use of that type of corporal punishment.

Also, believe that the State needs to take some slack in this if what the mother said about seeking help from them before is true. As far as I'm concerned, they were already warned that these parents can't cope with him.

Has anyone noticed the last names of the latest child abusers in the U.S. to hit the headlines--"Toogood," "Killpack," and now, "Moody." Toogood was the woman who beat her daughter for acting up in a store, the Killpacks were the parents that killed their daughter with a weird form of shrink prescribed water torture (allegedly), and Moody was the father who couldn't stand his son and zapped him with a stun gun.

Talk about irony.

It is sad when people are blessed with children and don't appreciate the gift they are given! There are so many people who want children desperately and would cherish them, but can't have any. Then there are people like Moody, and some who are even more abusive than that (if you can imagine the horror of it), with several kids to abuse. It just isn't right.

I'm not one to get hot-under-the-collar normally...I try to see all sides, even if I don't agree with it. However, there are some times when I just feel rage, and abusing children or mentally-challenged folk or someone in less of a seat of "power" than the abuser, no matter how that power is "perceived" to be...just makes me STEAM!

Unfortunately here where I live, there are no more "case workers" available because of deep government cuts, and usually the "north" is the first to feel the brunt of such measures. As I work in a school, I see many cases where the LEAST that is needed is intervention. Apprehension is often the only way. So this sort of thing goes on unchecked. What really breaks my heart is that I know the "authorities" have been alerted, are very aware of these sad family situations, and don't have the manpower or sometimes the jurisdiction (without proof positive) to do anything! I hate this situation.

Myself, I think the man, Moody, should be horsewhipped and then "fixed". To heck with counselling. Sounds like it's too late. What about his wife, I wonder? Is she living in fear, too? Is she one of the ones who "has" to watch their children being hurt because he's got her scared "witless", too?

Actually I know nothing of this case. I've seen worse and much closer to home, so I don't doubt it's legitimacy.

The world can be a very sad place............