If he had hired a firm to impose the same kind of punishment on the kids, it would properly have been legal:
Christopher Carlson Tortures Grandsons on 18-Mile Hike Because They're Fat, WeakBy Pete Kotz, True Crime Report, September 2, 2011-+-+-+-
Christopher Carlson's three grandsons -- ages 12, 9 and 8 -- were spending some time with him this summer from their home in Indianapolis. But he didn't like what he saw. He thought the kids were fat and lacking in the toughness needed for a tough world...
So he decided to do something about it.
He began taking them on long hikes in the Grand Canyon. But these weren't just any hikes. The 45-year-old grandpa marched them through the canyon on walks of nearly 20 miles, refusing to give them water and hitting, choking, pushing and pinching them along the way.
When the boys got sick, he forced them to stick their fingers down their throats to throw up.
He was caught by a park ranger on August 15, when the ranger found the kids tired and dehydrated and forced Carlson to stop the hike. The ranger also warned his colleagues to keep an eye out for Carlson.
So the grandpa decided to hike a different trail where they would avoid rangers. But he was caught again two weeks later, this time marching the boys in 108 degree heat.
A ranger saw them through his binoculars as Carlson shoved the oldest boy and whipped him with a rolled-up T-shirt. Other hikers reported the abuse, and a ranger intervened.
The boys said Carlson had told them to lie if asked about their injuries. Carlson claimed he was simply believed the kids were overweight and he was trying to get them in shape.
"He told me that he loved his grandchildren very much, but at the same time there were tough people in the world and his grandchildren needed to be tough as well," ranger Chris Smith told Fox News.
The rangers fed the boys and gave them water. But Carlson is now charged with six counts of child abuse.
-+-+-+-
