Luis Humberto Medellin is a husband and stepfather.
He's behind bars for allegedly beating his stepson with a belt and punching him in the forehead at a Harlingen apartment.
Medellin's common law wife did not want to be identified but is defending her husband.
She told Action 4 News her son is schizophrenic.
She said Medellin disciplined her son after her son refused to obey and became aggressive.
"So my husband just got both of his feet, tried to flip him over facedown to try to spank him with a belt,” said the mother.
Court records show the boy reportedly tried grabbing the belt, and that's when Medellin allegedly punched him in the forehead.
The teen's mom said that didn’t happen.
She said her son tried throwing a knife at his brother, and that's when Medellin spanked him again.
The mother alleged the teen locked himself in his room and called police.
“They saw the bump on his head and said it looks like a punch in the head,” said the mother.
When police asked the teen who gave him the bump, the son replied his dad had did it.
The teen's mother said only after his stepfather was arrested did her son admit he hit his own head against the bed inside his room.
At that point, Medellin was already in police custody.
"They just took my husband out of the house… barefooted and everything,” said the mother in tears.
Twenty-five-year-old Medellin remains locked up at the Cameron County Jail.
He is reportedly in the country illegally.
Action 4 News spoke with a child forensic interviewer for advice on child discipline.
Lisa Gomez with Estrella’s House said physical discipline is not suggested, but that if a parent feels it is necessary, to only use an open hand on the bottom.
“That it only be with their hand on their bottom,” said Gomez. “No vital parts of the body being their face, stomach or back.”
Gomez added a spanking should never leave a mark.
She said parents should never use a tool like a belt or a shoe.
“When you use an object or if you use something else, you don’t know how hard or to what extent you might injure your child,” said Gomez.
To learn more about appropriate discipline methods for your children, visit the following Child Protective Services web site.
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