5 Things We Have Learned About the Adrian Peterson Child Abuse Case Over the Last 12 Hours

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Adrian Peterson turned himself in early Saturday morning. He was let in through a side entrance and a $15,000 bail was set. 

When Adrian Peterson spoke with authorities, he seemed a little too casual about the whole ordeal. According to CBS Houston, Peterson appeared "to believe he had done nothing wrong." The "switch" was discussed and Peterson produced one which was apparently similar to the one that he used on the 4-year-old. This form of punishment was used twice during his son's visit to Texas. While the incident in question was the result of pushing one of AP's kids off of a motorbike video game, the other occurred when the boy scratched the face of a 5-year-old.

Peterson told authorities that he sent a text message to the 4-year-old's mother because "one wound in particular would make her 'mad at me about his leg. I got kinda good wit the tail end of the switch.'” AP went on to send additional text messages to the boy's mother, saying he “felt bad after the fact when I notice the switch was wrapping around hitting I (sic) thigh.” Peterson also admitted to hitting the poor kid in the scrotum. “Got him in nuts once I noticed. But I felt so bad, n I’m all tearing that butt up when needed! I start putting them in timeout," Peterson said. "N save the whooping for needed memories!” Needed memories, huh? 

But before you go judging Peterson, he wants to make one thing clear. “Never do I go overboard! But all my kids will know, hey daddy has the biggie heart but don’t play no games when it comes to acting right.” 

This is where things get really chilling. The 4-year-old child reportedly told authorities that "Daddy Peterson hit me on my face." As for the incident which led to the child abuse case against Peterson, the child said that while being hit with the switch with his pants down, AP put leaves in his mouth. The boy went on to say that there was concern that AP would punch him in the face if he went to police with his injuries.

The kid revealed that not only has he been hit with a belt in other scenarios but “there are a lot of belts in Daddy’s closet." The 4-year-old told his mother that AP has a "whooping room.” 

Adrian Peterson admits that he only uses corporal punishment as a last resort when he wants his kids to do the right thing. “Anytime I spank my kids, I talk to them before, let them know what they did, and of course after," Peterson said. “To be honest with you, I feel very confident with my actions because I know my intent.” With this particular incident, AP—who believes that he “swatted” his son “10 to 15” times, but admittedly doesn’t “ever count how many pops I give my kids"—had a regret over the situation, but it has nothing to do with administering the self-proclaimed “normal whooping." Instead, Peterson feels bad because his son didn't cry, so that he "would have known that the switch was doing more damage than intended." 

Prior to sending his son back on a flight to his mother's home in Minnesota, Peterson was cognisant of the injuries sustained by the 4-year-old and did acknowledge that when a child has marks on him, it is something that needs to be reported. However, AP felt as though if something was “really wrong for what I did, or had any ill intent, there’s no way I would have let him get on that plane.” 

Near the end of his discussion with authorities, Peterson said he would mull over the idea of not using switches in the future, but he would never “eliminate whooping my kids...because I know how being spanked has helped me in my life.”