A Ledyard man has been arrested on cruelty and child endangerment charges for allegedly abusing his four children using military-style disciplines.
Elijah King, 26, was arrested and charged with three counts of risk of injury to a minor, two counts of intentional cruelty to persons and a single count of disorderly conduct, according to the Ledyard Police Department.
On Nov. 3, King’s sister went to the police department alleging that he has been physically and verbally abusing his children for months, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. She claimed that he had been hitting his children and forcing them to do “military-style” pushups, the warrant affidavit said.
King’s sister told police she moved into a home in early September owned by grandparents. She said King also lived there along with his wife, an aunt and the four children, which included three boys, ages 4, 3 and 1, and a 6-month-old girl, the warrant affidavit said.
The sister said she reported the allegations only days after moving out and had video evidence that she gave investigators, according to the warrant affidavit.
She said King would allegedly make some of the children crawl on their hands and feet up and down a hill in their yard while spraying them with water when it was about 50 degrees out, the warrant affidavit said.
She said one of the children had red marks on his body after his wet clothes were removed, according to the warrant affidavit.
One of the videos the sister shared with police allegedly showed children crawling and sometimes “crabwalking” up a hill while visibly wet, the warrant affidavit said.
The sister told police the footage came from surveillance cameras on the home but claimed that they did not capture the most “egregious” allegations, as someone had deleted those portions, according to the warrant affidavit.
The sister also told police that, when the family moved from Kentucky to Connecticut, King brought mostly his own belongings and, despite having plenty of room, allegedly abandoned a lot of the children’s things, the warrant affidavit said.
Upon moving into the home, the sister alleged that she witnessed King force some of the children to stay in their beds even when they needed to use the bathroom, the warrant affidavit said. After urinating in their beds, King’s sister said she saw him allegedly hit both boys, according to the warrant affidavit.
King would also allegedly “wrestle” some of the boys and put them into “headlocks,” leaving them gasping for air, the warrant affidavit said.
When police spoke to King on Nov. 10, he denied the allegations and said that there are people “disgruntled” with the way he parents his children, the warrant affidavit said.
He described his parenting style as “conservative Christian” and said he believes in disciplining with physical exercises because of his military background, the warrant affidavit said. He denied spraying any children with water while making them crawl, according to the warrant affidavit.
King is free on a $75,000 bond. According to court records, he was expected to appear before a judge in New London Superior Court on Friday.