Adrian Peterson charges weren’t pursued by grand jury first time

Posted by Darin Gantt on September 12, 2014, 6:12 PM EDT
AP

One of the interesting points to monitor as the Adrian Peterson case proceeds is its timing as it pertains to Ray Rice.

According to KPRC in Houston, the charges of injuring his 4-year-old son were first presented to a grand jury, and then no-billed (meaning no charges were filed).

That an indictment comes now makes it seem that the heightened awareness caused by Rice’s domestic violence case might have had an impact.

Peterson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, said the charges were recently re-filed by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and the grand jury accepted them.

Photographs provided as part of the report filed by the Houston Police Department show injuries to the child consistent with being hit by a switch.

Obviously this story continues to develop, so stay tuned here for the latest.

 

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84 responses to “Adrian Peterson charges weren’t pursued by grand jury first time”

  4. A switch to the LEG?? Man, I’m really concerned for this world. That is nothing. Of course the Packers want him sentenced to Death by Electrocution….

  5. Interesting that the first grand jury did not indict. Nevertheless, you do not hit a 4-year-old that many times and cause those kinds of injuries. This goes way beyond normal discipline.

  8. I believe in letting a parent spank a child, but those marks on his legs look like he was being hit in anger. Can’t condone that. But it is a tricky situation to punish parents for disciplining kids.

  11. I’ve gotten it just as bad if not worse from not staying bent over or turned around. In today’s society, this won’t go away though.

  17. See….this is what you get when you listen to rap music….a bunch of knuckle dragging car jackers who they give too much money to and they just go nuts.

  19. hakunamangata says:
    Sep 12, 2014 6:18 PM
    Wouldn’t that constitute double jeopardy then?

    ______________________

    He wasn’t charged the first time. Double jeopardy means you can’t charge a person twice for the same crime.

  21. I don’t know… you should be able to discipline your kid as you see fit – as long as it doesn’t cross into abuse. I do know that if someone had done this to me as child, and this would be in the early 80s, my mother probably would have went and killed the person herself.

    When you’re leaving visible, fairly heavy marks that are there days later, that’s a problem. I still don’t know if its something you should be arrested for however – based on the limited information available and that is probably why the grand jury didn’t act. Very mixed feelings on this.

  22. All you dopes supporting this need to have your heads examined. You don’t draw blood on a kid. You just don’t!! Goodell better give him 6 games for this or he might as well quit.

  23. I used to have to go get my own switch before I got a whupping. Trying to find one not-to-big and one n0t-to-small was added punishment. Lol

    My cousin got arrested for the same thing in Texas. His lawyer had myself and his brother (we all grew up together) write letters stating that was how we were disciplined as children.

    But that does seem a little excessive for a 4 year old.

  25. So in other words, the first Grand Jury did not indict, so the DA refiles them (most likely taking advantage of the Rice situation) and got an indictment.

    Good strategy perhaps, but I bet this gets dropped by the judge for lack of evidence.

  26. sactimevet says:
    Sep 12, 2014 6:20 PM
    See….this is what you get when you listen to rap music….a bunch of knuckle dragging car jackers who they give too much money to and they just go nuts.

    _______________

    I told the Silicon Valley liberals we shouldn’t give the south internet.

  27. Some of you say you all just turned out fine after child abuse. Who is to say that? You see how messed up our world is now with the people running it? Its the same people that say its ok to abuse children because they were too.

  28. I Have Mixed Feeling About this. While I do think America is becoming too soft when it comes to disciplining. Unfortunately it looks like this is a situation that seems he took it too far.

  29. I’m not saying agree with discipline with a stick, but isn’t corporal punishment still legal in some school districts in Texas — ie: teachers can still paddle.

    Honest question — it may not be anymore, but I thought it was.

  30. Thighs, back, butt, and hands? Leaving those marks.

    Seems a bit excessive. That just seems like swinging and letting anger get the best of you.

    But I’ve personally never had it happen to me so I don’t know typical results from this. I got a spanking with maybe a max of 3 hits. But I learned my lesson and didn’t do it again. Maybe that’s why I feel it’s excessive.

  33. Like I said earlier…marks will get you indicted in some case.

    The general rule of thumb down here is that you can spank, but you can’t leave marks.

    With that said Peterson likely just needs to get sent to parenting classes. I don’t think he was intentionally trying to hurt his kid as much as giving him spankings in the same way he did as a kid.

    But he’s got to realize he’s too strong to be spanking a small child. He probably needs to leave the spankings to the mommas.

  35. In todays world discipline isn’t allowed. A parent constantly walks the line to stay in bounds. That said. Next man up. Mckinnon get your cleats ready.

  37. justintuckrule says:
    Sep 12, 2014 6:23 PM
    All you dopes supporting this need to have your heads examined. You don’t draw blood on a kid. You just don’t!! Goodell better give him 6 games for this or he might as well quit.

    ———–

    Where does it say he drew blood on the kid? I see heavy marks, I don’t see cuts. If true then yeah, it pretty clearly goes into the abuse category.

  38. The people posting support for AP are some SICK MFers. All this macho crap about liberals turning their kids into wussies. The freaking guy beat the crap out of a little 4 year old to the point when he got back to his Moms in Minnesota he had bruises up and down his back with lacerations that were still bleeding. What could a 4 year old do to get a beat down like that? I couldnt even imagine hitting my precious little girl to the point that days later she was bruised up and still bleeding.

    You tough guys are some sick friggin people.

  39. It’s one thing to reprimand your child with some sort of physical punishment. I don’t employ it in my own household, but I get it.

    It is entirely different story when you physically punish a child to the point that you draw blood. There is no excuse for that. Maybe I’m not educated in the way of the “switch” (grew up on Long Island but lived in South Carolina the last 13 years and still had never heard of it before), but you can get your point across without leaving physical scars. And if you can’t, then perhaps your lack of parenting skills is the problem and not the child.

  41. to the marks, any spanking leaves a mark. Can’t believe how soft this society has become. And the same folks whining about this whine about the numbers of those committing crime.

  42. No, sorry, leaving marks like that is just wrong and excessive especially for 4 years old. Anyone who condones that and says they had it happen to them, “but oh, I turned out fine” is full of it. Chances are you’ll do the same or worse to one of your own children. Get a grip, this is bad.

  43. “The doctor told investigators that the boy had a number of lacerations on his thighs, along with bruise-like marks on his lower back and buttocks and cuts on his hand.

    “The police report says the doctor described some of the marks as open wounds and termed it ‘child abuse.’ Another examiner agreed, calling the cuts ‘extensive.'”
    __________________________________
    Enough said. Congrats to those of you defending this guy.

  44. Today in AMERICA’S court of public opinion. If not guilty or justly punished according to Facebook and Twitter’s moral outrage pages. We will pursue you till we get our pound of flesh.
    TMZ will confirm when you have had enough.

  45. How can you look at this 4 year old’s injuries and say that’s ok? I know a lot of us have been given a few swats with a switch before but a 4 year old getting hit that many times and that hard to leave those cuts is not coo at all. He had no mom there to defend him or say “ok, that’s enough”. That’s not coo at all.

  47. I was hit with a board and a switch numerous times as a child. I don’t see the issue in GENERAL. However, if you look at the photos, it looks like he beat the hell out of him with the switch. I mean, he drew blood akin to someone being whipped moderately. The photos don’t look like a displinary “switching” but more like an out-of-control-rage beating.

  50. I come from a Southern family that believes in corporal punishment. My parents also spanked me with belts and switches–and no, it didn’t do me any harm. But look at these photos. The skin was broken on this child. My parents left me with some red marks that faded quickly. They didn’t break the skin. They didn’t draw blood–as the photos indicate happened here. They followed punishment with a clear explanation of what I’d done wrong and a lot of hugs. I never doubted the love in my home.

    There’s a line between spanking and abuse. From the photos, it appears Peterson crossed it.

  51. Where’s everyone defending AP saying it’s OK to whip your kid. The child was 4 years old, FOUR! With not just marks but cuts and OPEN WOUNDS! Up and down his legs, even by his privates. What you didn’t see was his back, hands, and rear end that the doctor described as bruised and cut.

    Punishing your kid isn’t whipping him dozens of times until he’s bruised and bleeding. It also doesn’t include hitting a four year old AT ALL!

    I have no problem with physical punishment as long as its used more as a mental deterrent and not as a way to inflict severe damage. It also should never be used against a kid who is that young EVER!

  52. At first, I was seeing this as the law going way overboard. However, after viewing the photos, and having been the recipient of a few switching’s in my day, I can tell you I never came away with marks like that, welts absolutely, but nothing like that.

    Additionally, what lesson exactly, do you expect a child of 4 to learn from a switching like that?

  53. There is a difference between a spanking and a beating. This was a beating and cannot be ignored because AP is on someones fantasy team.

  54. U gotta remember those pictures are only after the kid returned to Minnesota from Texas. Then the mom had to take him to the doctor. So those pictures are a few days old. Imagine how they would look the next day or right after.

  56. The people that are appalled by a parent spanking their child are the same people who think we just need to be more understanding of the cultural differences of islamic sects that believe in stoning people to death.

  58. I thought this was the generation of people who were raised with “time-out” discipline. There are a school of people who advocate that you never hit child ever.That being said, if the Grand Jury thought it was serious enough to indict him it must be bad. And now, moving from that to the NFL, the Vikings have no choice at all but to release him from his contract. The NFL is a privilege. No one should employ a player or employee who is under an indictment. As I type this now I’m hearing that he is deactivated for Sunday. Release is the next step.

  59. Years ago I was on a television panel discussing the Rodney King case. I was astonished when a group of experts on the panel provided a series of justifications and rationalizations for the what the police did to King. I spoke up and said that a group of cops beat him with clubs while he was defenseless on the ground and that there was no excuse for their actions. I was the only member of the panel to take such a position.

    I will say it again. Looking at the photos, understanding that this child is four years of age, and that Mr. Peterson (6′.1″ and 217 pounds of muscle), knowingly and with forethought, caused these injuries with a stick, there was no excuse for his actions, They were criminal acts. He has been indicted by a grand jury. He should be suspended by the NFL under their protocols. The Vikings should release him immediately.

  60. Before anyone posts anything else click on the link at the end of the article where it says “consistently being hit with a switch.”

    The kid has multiple lacerations. You can’t draw blood on a 4 year old, especially not in 20 different places. No matter what you believe about parenting.

  61. blackandbluedivision says:

    He wasn’t charged the first time. Double jeopardy means you can’t charge a person twice for the same crime.

    ______________________

    Double Jeopardy means you can’t be TRIED for the same crime more than once. It doesn’t apply if there is a mistrial, and it doesn’t apply to grand jurys – since that isn’t a trial.

  63. mnvikingsfan says: Sep 12, 2014 6:25 PM

    So in other words, the first Grand Jury did not indict, so the DA refiles them (most likely taking advantage of the Rice situation) and got an indictment.

    Good strategy perhaps, but I bet this gets dropped by the judge for lack of evidence.
    ___________________________________________
    Let’s see, he sent incriminating text messages admitting to the “discipline”, there are corroborating photographs and he testified before the Grand Jury wherein he admitting to striking his 4 year old child with a switch hard enough to cause injuries.

    If any judge tosses this case for lack of evidence, he or she should be removed from the bench.

    Then again, this is Texas we are talking about.

  64. Oilmanplainview, you are one sick dude. Your for muscled bound men beating a four year old until they have bruises and blood all over their body.

    Sick MFer you are.

  65. clamdiggers says:
    Sep 12, 2014 6:24 PM
    Classic.. I was saying along he would never play a whole season.. No only is he made of glass so are his kids

    ——————————————-

    It’s one thing to want Peterson punished for this, and I have no problem with that. It’s another to be so giddy that Peterson’s in trouble, you revel in the fact that a small child was harmed and make fun of the situation. Typical…

  66. I am a lawyer. Unless new evidence evolved or was discovered I
    find it reprehensible to continue to shop grand jury pools
    until you get the answer you like. I wonder if Peterson’s high profile
    was a part of the DA’s second effort.
    As to the charges it is a tough call. Parenting is not easy. I spanked
    my kids. I said no to them. I would not permit them to go to beach towns for ” senior trip ” . They all graduated college with high honors.
    Sometimes tough love is hard. However there is a limit. Hopefully
    this situation can be resolved in order to keep the family together
    and they all can learn a lesson that allows them to continue their
    lives as one family.

  67. Carl Gerbschmidt says:
    Sep 12, 2014 5:12 PM
    A switch? Have you ever been hit by a switch? It hurts like h#ll.
    All those shots to the head i took make me believe I am a fictitious character.

  69. My Grandma used to hit my cousins and I with switches. But then again wasn’t an All Pro NFL RB.

    Disappointed in Adrian. He should have known better.

  70. JNOVA, “Americas grown soft”… so it means youre strong if you completely beat the crap out of a 4 year old baby. Youre sick dude.

  71. peymax1693 says: Sep 12, 2014 7:07 PM

    Let’s see, he sent incriminating text messages admitting to the “discipline”, there are corroborating photographs and he testified before the Grand Jury wherein he admitting to striking his 4 year old child with a switch hard enough to cause injuries.

    If any judge tosses this case for lack of evidence, he or she should be removed from the bench.

    Then again, this is Texas we are talking about.
    ——————————————-

    When I posted that, I hadn’t seen the pics nor read Peterson’s testimony from the first Grand Jury.

    Now that I have read and seen both, the first Grand Jury had to have been made up of backwoods hicks who were prob the results of inbreeding!

    Peterson needs to be terminated from the Vikings sooner rather than later and suspended indefinately from the NFL!

  72. Hey PFT comment board “tough” guys… just cause your dumbass parents beat the crap out of you and turned you into gay hating, gun loving “real” men, doesn’t mean abusing a 4 yr old and bragging about “catching him in the nuts” flys in the rational states of America…

  73. I believe parents should be allowed to spank a child to instill discipline. That said, if there are marks visible a week later it went way too far. It is possible to unintentionally leave a mark (kid moves, poor aim, etc.) but multiple marks indicate an intent to harm. Spanking intends to teach, abuse intends to harm. On this, I’m inclined to believe it was abuse. One mark lasts, maybe. Many marks last a week…nope. That’s abuse in my book.

  74. How many of you received a switching from a parent that’s build like AP? Probably why you never had injuries like that. In my opinion, he needs some serious parenting classes and should be good for a solid 6-8 game suspension unless Goodell goes nuts with his absolute power after he botched the Ray Rice situation.

  76. The Doctors in Minnesota are the reason the charges were brought. The mother brought the boy to a Doctor who said it was child abuse, and then sent the boy to another Doctor who concluded the same thing. This is the reasons were brought, not because the NFL pushed for charges in some attempt to look tough.

    Only in East Texas are condoms a sin, but corporal punishment acceptable. That is why the charges were dropped. Minnesota Doctors don’t see the world through the same lens.

    I hope Adrian stops fathering illegitimate children long enough to learn how to raise them. This was not a lap on the back side, but he beat a child with a tree branch, and he sees no fault in it. He is facing two to ten years if convicted.

  78. If your teenage son is outta control, maybe he gets an attitude adjustment…4 yr olds simply don’t know right from wrong yet and can’t understand what they’re doing. If you’re beating a 4 yr old, you are the one who’s outta control. Send him to JAIL. It will be fascinating to see how the league handles this one.

  79. wasn’t pursued until mommy decided she needed a little cash — oh, I bet that hurt..Oh, did daddy hit you …come here, we will take care of that bad man.

  81. How ironic, the state that executes more people than any other state in the union, doesn’t want parents spanking their own kids. Go figure…

  82. All I have to say is that I got hurt worse than that PLAYING in the woods as a kid. I wasnt 4 but it was worse. this is a joke. shows that american is a bunch of sissies. we’re likely going to lose this battle that will soon take place for our lives and freedom.

  83. Anyone defending the beating of a four year old is just insane. And why are people saying that a 4 yr old must be physically disciplined so they “won’t end up a criminal”? Are all kids destined to be criminal? I think not, give them a chance. They don’t know how to live. He’s four! Teach them the right way!

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