A San Francisco father was acquitted of child abuse charges this week for spanking his 11-year-old son with a belt.
Allan Rivera, 32, was found not guilty of misdemeanor child abuse and battery charges for disciplining his son with a belt after he allegedly misbehaved in church.
"The law states that a parent may use physical discipline as a form of correction as long as it does not cause lasting injury or seriously endanger the child’s health," Tamara Barak Aparton, a spokeswoman for Public Defender Jeff Adachi, told The San Francisco Examiner.
Rivera was arrested in March after his ex-wife called the police to report bruising on her son's body.
The child told authorities he was hit with a belt three separate times.
