MONTICELLO - A New Glarus man faces a felony child abuse charge for repeatedly "disciplining" a rural Monticello 8-year-old at the direction of the boy's mother.
Gerard J. Molloy, 21, was charged last week in Green County Circuit Court with repeated acts of physically abusing a child, causing bodily harm. The Class E felony carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, 5 years on extended supervision and a $50,000 fine.
Molloy is not related to the boy or his family, nor does he live at the house.
The boy's mother has not been charged in the case. She told investigators Molloy is "a friend who is actually trying to step in and help this family because my husband will not," according to the criminal complaint filed Oct. 9.
The mother, 46, said her son is "out of control" and "will not listen." She said she has tried spanking him, "but he doesn't get threatened by my spanks and he still doesn't respect me."
"He needs a male authority figure to step in and thankfully I have someone who has been through military training and he is trying to step in and fill that male role and he is turning him around, getting him to respect me and do what I'm asking him to do," she said.
In a forensic interview this summer, the 8-year-old described a home life of near daily punishment over the past year.
He said Molloy regularly spanked him with a belt and wooden spoon or hit him in the head for infractions as minor as not picking up sticks fast enough, accidentally spraying water on his mother's "good plants" or using the wrong word.
"Instead of saying 'have,' I say 'got' a lot and she wants me to say 'have,'" the boy told the interviewer. "So then (Molloy) whacks me on the back of the head with the wooden spoon. Mom hands him the wooden spoon when he whacks me and then she says, 'Thank you, Gerry.'"
"Almost every day when I don't do something correct, she gets the wooden spoon and whacks me on the back of the head," the boy said. "It's painful and gives me a big headache."
At his mother's behest, he also received regular spankings, he said.
One recent time, "Mom was trimming the garden and I was picking up the trimmings ... and Gerry saw some stuff that I didn't get all picked up, so Gerry told me to go to my room and then he came up with the wooden spoon and spanked me.
"Then he said, 'I will be back up in a half hour ready for round two.' I was in my room wondering what round two meant and he came back in with a belt and spanked me more," the boy said.
Molloy used a "big, thick leather belt," he said. The wooden spoon is the type "made for flipping pancakes."
"He has it in a special place," the boy said.
The case was reported to authorities after the boy's father, who does not live with the boy or his mother, found bruises on his son.
His punishments have also included deprivation. The mother said she took everything out of the boy's bedroom, including his bed, "because we are trying to teach him to respect other people's things." He was forced to sleep on the floor.
The boy understood a different reason for his room being emptied.
"I didn't get the whole compost full of sticks, so it was punishment for not getting that done," he said, adding, "I figured out that they put all of the heavy stuff downstairs because they wanted to see me struggle to get (it) back upstairs."
During the forensic interview of the 8-year-old, the interviewer asked the boy to give examples of "good touches" vs. "bad touches."
The boy said he likes it when he gets patted on the back by his dad, but "I don't like to be hugged by my mom."
When an investigator asked the mother if the boy was seeing a counselor or a psychiatrist for his anger issues, the woman didn't answer.
"I'm not abusing him, but we are trying to teach him a lesson," the mother said. "The Bible says 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.' I have a spoiled child and I'm not going to have another one."
"We have a heart but he is 8 and he can work," she said.
As for Molloy, he told investigators he is helping the mother "out of the kindness of my heart" and regularly comes over to do handyman-type tasks around the house.
The boy "gets aggressive" and makes "smart-aleck remarks," so discipline is necessary, he said, adding that he grew up with similar disciplinary tactics.
"My parents did it. They had friends help discipline me when they couldn't," Molloy said.
State court records show no criminal record for Molloy. His initial appearance in court is Oct. 30.
Gerard J. Molloy, 21, was charged last week in Green County Circuit Court with repeated acts of physically abusing a child, causing bodily harm. The Class E felony carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, 5 years on extended supervision and a $50,000 fine.
Molloy is not related to the boy or his family, nor does he live at the house.
The boy's mother has not been charged in the case. She told investigators Molloy is "a friend who is actually trying to step in and help this family because my husband will not," according to the criminal complaint filed Oct. 9.
The mother, 46, said her son is "out of control" and "will not listen." She said she has tried spanking him, "but he doesn't get threatened by my spanks and he still doesn't respect me."
"He needs a male authority figure to step in and thankfully I have someone who has been through military training and he is trying to step in and fill that male role and he is turning him around, getting him to respect me and do what I'm asking him to do," she said.
In a forensic interview this summer, the 8-year-old described a home life of near daily punishment over the past year.
He said Molloy regularly spanked him with a belt and wooden spoon or hit him in the head for infractions as minor as not picking up sticks fast enough, accidentally spraying water on his mother's "good plants" or using the wrong word.
"Instead of saying 'have,' I say 'got' a lot and she wants me to say 'have,'" the boy told the interviewer. "So then (Molloy) whacks me on the back of the head with the wooden spoon. Mom hands him the wooden spoon when he whacks me and then she says, 'Thank you, Gerry.'"
"Almost every day when I don't do something correct, she gets the wooden spoon and whacks me on the back of the head," the boy said. "It's painful and gives me a big headache."
At his mother's behest, he also received regular spankings, he said.
One recent time, "Mom was trimming the garden and I was picking up the trimmings ... and Gerry saw some stuff that I didn't get all picked up, so Gerry told me to go to my room and then he came up with the wooden spoon and spanked me.
"Then he said, 'I will be back up in a half hour ready for round two.' I was in my room wondering what round two meant and he came back in with a belt and spanked me more," the boy said.
Molloy used a "big, thick leather belt," he said. The wooden spoon is the type "made for flipping pancakes."
"He has it in a special place," the boy said.
The case was reported to authorities after the boy's father, who does not live with the boy or his mother, found bruises on his son.
His punishments have also included deprivation. The mother said she took everything out of the boy's bedroom, including his bed, "because we are trying to teach him to respect other people's things." He was forced to sleep on the floor.
The boy understood a different reason for his room being emptied.
"I didn't get the whole compost full of sticks, so it was punishment for not getting that done," he said, adding, "I figured out that they put all of the heavy stuff downstairs because they wanted to see me struggle to get (it) back upstairs."
During the forensic interview of the 8-year-old, the interviewer asked the boy to give examples of "good touches" vs. "bad touches."
The boy said he likes it when he gets patted on the back by his dad, but "I don't like to be hugged by my mom."
When an investigator asked the mother if the boy was seeing a counselor or a psychiatrist for his anger issues, the woman didn't answer.
"I'm not abusing him, but we are trying to teach him a lesson," the mother said. "The Bible says 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.' I have a spoiled child and I'm not going to have another one."
"We have a heart but he is 8 and he can work," she said.
As for Molloy, he told investigators he is helping the mother "out of the kindness of my heart" and regularly comes over to do handyman-type tasks around the house.
The boy "gets aggressive" and makes "smart-aleck remarks," so discipline is necessary, he said, adding that he grew up with similar disciplinary tactics.
"My parents did it. They had friends help discipline me when they couldn't," Molloy said.
State court records show no criminal record for Molloy. His initial appearance in court is Oct. 30.