(La Porte County, IN) - Using soap to supposedly wash out the mouth of a child using foul language was once a not so uncommon disciplinary practice.

 

A La Porte man accused of trying to do it is now facing potential time in prison.

 

Daniel Schergen, 34, is charged in La Porte Circuit with Level 6 felony domestic battery.

 

According to court records, he was arrested October 23 on a warrant and released from the La Porte County jail five days later after posting $750 bond.

 

The charging information accuses Schergen of trying to force a bar of soap into the mouth of a seven-year old family member on August 29 while holding the boy’s head against the back of a car seat.

 

La Porte County Police said detectives became involved on September 8 after receiving a report from the Indiana Department of Child Services of alleged physical abuse against the child.

 

The investigation revealed Schergen and his girlfriend were in a sport utility vehicle with the boy and three other children.  After dropping off one of the children at football practice, Schergen pulled up to a convenience store asking his girlfriend to purchase a bar of soap in response to the boy uttering a naughty word, police said.

 

Police said the word was described by a witness in the vehicle as “really bad.”

 

When his girlfriend returned to the vehicle, Schergen grabbed the soap and, while holding the boy’s head down against a car seat, tried forcing it into the child’s mouth, according to the charging information.

 

Police said the boy, who managed to keep his mouth closed during the entire struggle, was accidentally hit on the forehead once by Schergen, who was struck and kicked multiple times by the child.

 

The boy heard crying and screaming during the encounter was bleeding from what was described as a small “oval mark” left by the blow, police said.  In response, the woman went back into the store and purchased alcohol wipes and bandages to cleanse and cover the wound.

 

The investigation also revealed Schergen managed to force soap into the child’s mouth on at least one previous occasion, police said.

 

Schergen told investigators the boy has had issues with his temper and striking other kids even at school along with adults, police said.

 

According to police, Schergen said he had been trying to get away from traditional forms of discipline like spankings in exchange for time outs and simply talking, but those tactics weren’t  always effective.

 

Police said the child also had redness and a bruise to his face, which were also shown in pictures given to child welfare authorities by the boy’s mother, authorities said.

 

La Porte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan said state law gives parents the right to discipline their children but not when the punishment is viewed as too extreme.

 

“When you’re dealing with these kind of cases, you’re always having to ask yourself how much is too much when it comes to the discipline of a child or a minor,” he said.