A Northamptonshire father has been spared jail for throwing his son against a wall after a judge ruled he was 'a poor parent who needed help, not punishment'.
The 28-year-old man pleaded guilty to child cruelty after a weekend in last year in which he threw the six-year-old boy against a wall, shaved his head with clippers and 'forced' him into the bathroom 'by his neck'.
The young boy's mother called the police after she discovered bruises on her son's neck and shoulders. He has not seen his father since.
But at Northampton Crown Court today (February 25), the judge gave the man a second chance and ordered him to attend courses to correct his behaviour.
His Honour Judge Roger Tregilgas-Davey said: "A child is not an object. It's an individual person who has their own rights.
"But given there are children in your life, you need assistance and help rather than punishment.
During the weekend at his father's house, the six-year-old boy wet the bed on two occasions and cut the hair on one of his stepsisters' dolls with scissors.
But the 28-year-old dad decided the boy was 'wetting the bed on purpose' and threw him against a wall. He also put his hands 'forcibly' on his neck to push him into the bathroom, and later shaved his head with clippers to punish him for cutting the doll's hair.
The judge said: "It does not matter if he was wetting the bed on purpose or not. If he was, you should have shown care and sensitivity and found out why. If not, it just shows just how unnecessarily brutal your reaction was."
"However, I find your behaviour was rooted in frustration and poor parenting rather than anything sinister."
The 28-year-old was handed a 12-month community order and ordered to attend courses to correct his parenting.
The judge added: "Please make the most of these courses. If you are foolish enough to miss them you will be brought back to court."