Dad had a cattle prod. His daughters had an hour to finish chores before he used it, police say
It’s supposed to be used to herd livestock, like cattle or hogs.
But that’s not the only thing a 36-year-old father in Swan, Iowa, was using his hand-held electric livestock prod for, according to police. Travis Coker was also allegedly shocking his children with the tool as punishment, WKBT reports.
Coker was arrested on two counts of felony child endangerment, the TV station reports, and pleaded not guilty to both charges in Marion County court on Thursday.
If his adopted 11- and 13-year-old girls failed to complete their chores in under an hour on the family’s farm, Coker would shock them once for every additional five minutes they required, Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt told KCCI.
A livestock prod causes pain when its high-voltage, low-current electric shock hits the skin.
“They weren’t doing the chores fast enough, so he decided to use an electronic cattle prod to discipline the children,” Sandholdt said.
Iowa’s Department of Human Services had started investigating Coker after one of the dependents whom he allegedly shocked told someone about the form of discipline, the Des Moines Register reports. When the sheriff’s office went to investigate at the family’s farm in Swan, Coker and his wife both confirmed the victim’s account of his punishment method, police said.
Swan is a small town just southeast of Des Moines, in central Iowa.
Coker was booked at the Marion County jail after he was arrested, but has since been released on $5,000 bond, the Register reports.
He isn’t allowed to be in contact with the two girls, WHO-TV reports.
There is also a biological son and an adopted son in the family, KCCI reports. The sheriff told the TV station that he’d received calls from the parents before requesting help because of the children’s behavioral problems.
Coker will next appear in court on Jan. 18, KCCI reports. He has not yet entered a plea.
This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Dad had a cattle prod. His daughters had an hour to finish chores before he used it, police say."