Many years ago as a trial lawyer, I represented a woman who was small in statue for the same offense.  Her son was very large and towered over her.  There was no father in the home.  One day when her son had been misbehaving, she had him strip to his underwear and lay on the bed.  She then used a belt to get her point across to him that his actions were inappropriate.  The next day, the school nurse saw some of the marks and reported it to the authorities.  She was arrested and charged.  We eventually went before two different Judges.  To make a long story short, one Judge did not believe that a crime had been committed.  The other Judge thought that what my client had done was awful. Therein lies the dilemma.

Regardless of your personal views, the passage above puts a burden on children to be obedient to their parents.  It also warns parents (fathers) to be mindful of how they administer punishment in training them up the right way (Proverbs 22:6).  Of course we are familiar with Proverbs 13:24, "He who spares his rod hates his son."  The question is, at what point is the line crossed.  I feel sympathy for a child who has sustained injury from excessive force.  And I feel sympathy for a parent, who is trying to do what the Bible refers to, but then is accused of inadvertently going too far.  Let us all pray that God's "WILL," will be done in this case, and let us not rush to judgment.