A 34-year-old Racine man faces a two felony charges of causing a child younger than 13 to view or listen to sexual activity, as well as a felony charge of physical abuse of a child.
The charges filed against the man, who is not being named to protect the victim’s identity, carry a total fine of $110,000 and 31 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint: An officer with the Racine Police Department spoke with a 13-year-old boy, who stated his father accused him of breaking a video game disk and whipped him with a leather belt.
The boy said his father struck him with the belt several times on the left side of his body, including his arm, back and buttocks. The boy also stated that while he was getting whipped, he backed into a closet and tried to protect his face from getting hit. The boy’s stepmother allegedly stood in the doorway to the bedroom and did nothing to stop the beating.
Police observed a number of bruises they believed to be caused by being struck with a belt.
The boy also told the officer that, in 2014, the man showed him two videos of him having sex. The videos were reportedly on his father’s cell phone.
The man stated the boy admitted to breaking a video game so he “jacked him up.” He also denied striking him with a belt and denied showing him sex videos from his phone.
Court records indicate the defendant will be in Racine County Circuit Court on Oct. 10 for an 8:30 a.m. preliminary hearing.