One day in April 1997, Judah, then 9, asked his teacher not to send a disciplinary note home about his school behavior because he feared a spanking by his father, a Christian minister who uses a belt on the boy's behind. In this state, teachers, along with many other professionals who have frequent contact with children, are mandated by state law to report cases of possible child abuse and neglect to child welfare authorities. The law was created so that any nurse, physician, counselor, or teacher who might be reluctant to get involved in the messiness of other people's domestic lives would have no excuse not to.
Ministers are also mandated reporters.
But in this case Judah's father became the one being investigated by DSS for suspected child abuse, not the one reporting it. By his own admission, the Rev. Donald R. Cobble Jr. uses the soft end of a belt on his son's clothed buttocks to discipline Judah, who has attention deficit disorder, was born with a congenital disease and wears leg braces and a back brace. He also reads the Bible with his son after striking him. The minister maintained that he was within his parental rights to do so. Furthermore, he claimed that God approves of corporal punishment and he was within his religious rights, as well.