Arrested for slapping daughter

Exclusive Simon Donohue

August 13, 2008

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Jim McCullough with daughter Jessica

A DAD says his life has been 'wrecked' after he was locked up and got a criminal record for slapping his unruly daughter.

Community worker Jim McCullough was arrested and cautioned when 13-year old Jess phoned police because he hit her for 'terrorising' a neighbour.

Now he has quit the football coaching and community centre work he has done for more than 15 years, because the caution could stop him working with vulnerable children.

Mr McCullough, 44, says he has never hit his daughter before but felt it was the only way to get her to understand what she had done after she terrorised a neighbour by banging on her window at midnight.

The single dad, who has five children, said: "I wish I had asked for my day in court rather than accept a police caution. That way I could have explained that I was trying to do what was right for my daughter.

"Jess isn't bad, but some of the 13-year olds who live here do use drugs and drink and I don't want that path for her."

Mr McCullough has coached more than 500 children with the Benchill Town Community football team and does voluntary work at the United Estates of Wythenshawe community centre in Broadoak Road.

Jess's mum left when she was a baby and Mr McCullough has struggled to bring her up alone. He says her behaviour has recently deteriorated.

He said: "She didn't appreciate the seriousness of it and if I had simply grounded her, it wouldn't have proved the point.

Control

"I was in control of my actions and had no intention of causing her physical pain. I felt that she needed something to shock her."

Mr McCullough previously had a clean criminal record and recently qualified as a security guard, but says he has now wrecked his work prospects.

Jess, a year nine pupil at Parklands High School in Wythenshawe, said: "I did deserve the slapping because of the things I'd been doing. I was expecting my dad to come home from the police station and for everything to be the same as before."

Greg Davis, of the United Estates of Wythenshawe centre, said he was sad Mr McCullough would no longer work there.

He said: "We have lost an experienced youth worker and men like him are worth their weight in gold. There is clearly a need for better legislation."

A police spokesman said: "On Monday June 30, a 13-year-old girl was slapped in the face at a house in Wythenshawe. A man was arrested and given a caution after admitting a common assault. When an offence is admitted the offender is always liable to receive a caution.

"Had the offence not been admitted, officers would have pursued the matter with the CPS. An allegation of domestic violence was made and GMP officers always take these allegations very seriously."

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Michael West, Manchester (13/08/2008 at 06:17)

Something is clearly wrong with a society which discourages the chastisement of children by their parents and has a massive youth crime problem.

What is society's gain from the formal police caution? Nothing

What is society's loss from a community worker (with an unblemished record) quitting his job? Plenty

Very, very shameful on us all.

Neil Mcnab's Moustache, manchester (13/08/2008 at 06:32)

Coppers used to use discretion and common sense. In todays world of human rights garbage and over sensetivity to crimes of race or paedophilia police spend most of their time about worrying over meeting targets than doing the job. Why did the officer do this, because he has no common sense, because it's more than his jobs worth not to or because he genuinely thought it was needed to control this violent offender (sarcasm). What a sad world we live in that the girl actually thought that ringing the police was a good idea. In my youth dad's word was final and wasting the time of the police would have been unthinkable. The fact that she did ring them shows what's wrong with society, well done boys in blue for undermining this parent even further. The law is very good at penalising the easy target like this or motorists but completely useless at sorting out our blood stained streets.

midway, West Germany (13/08/2008 at 06:51)

This Man was in the right.That's the only way to deal with them.

PAH, Manchester (13/08/2008 at 07:13)

Once again the kids win! This is the reason they can get away with whatever they want! Society will only get worse unless people take a stand! Sack the do-gooders and employ some realists!

PW, Manchester (13/08/2008 at 07:31)

The Americans have a saying; If you want to teach a donkey how to speak Spanish, you have to first wack it round the head - that get's its attention.

Without getting confused with child-beating and real abuse, I don't see the harm in giving your child a slap at the moment when it's most appropriate. It does tend to concentrate the child's mind, when nothing else is working. And they can tend to act like donkeys with their stubbornness and "am I bovvered?" attitudes. I know, because I was a child once.

Now here come the torrents of verbal abuse, and expressions of horror & indignation from the mis-guided trendies.

A Voice From The North (13/08/2008 at 07:56)

Well that just says it all doesn’t it!
The government has given children the power to punish there parents!
No wonder the country is in ruins.

Peanut (13/08/2008 at 08:07)

How disgusting that this man is made to feel like this for simply trying to instil some discipline into his daughter. Sometimes kids need a slap to be brought back in line. It never did me and my brothers any harm.
If only more people had the sane attitude as this man to bringing up kids this country would be a much safer place with less kids thinking they can get away with doing whatever they like. Like Jim said, the message wouldnt have hit home if he had just grounded her.

jongreg, irlam (13/08/2008 at 08:31)

What a sad state of affairs our country is coming to..All the fella did was slap his unruley daughter..even she admitted that he was right to do so..
Wait for it..here comes all the do-gooders/pc brigade saying that what he did was wrong..
When we wer kids and its not that long ago..a bit of a slap or a telling off did us no bloody harm..
Now you cant even look at someone wrongly before they start screaming abuse!!
Its his daughter!! He should be able to discipline her in whatever way he sees fit. He isnt going to intentionally wound her is he!!
Go on PC brigade..start the backlash!!!!

Stretford Born Blue, Brooklands (13/08/2008 at 08:53)

Know how he feels, surely that was just chastisement? Why did he get a caution in the first place? Pathetic.

Weasel (not McKay), The Bubble (13/08/2008 at 08:58)

jongreg, irlam - Political Correctness is what is killing this country. Totally in agreement with your comments.

Victor Meldrew's Codpiece, Sale (13/08/2008 at 09:03)

Agree with all the comments. However on a prevention is better than punishment tack. What was she doing out at midnight? My daughter is 12 and is in bed by 10.30.

Or am I just being naive?

North Bury, Bury (13/08/2008 at 09:03)

If the neighbour had complained about the girl's behaviour the police wouldn't even have turned up.
Kids 1 Society 0

Tezza, Tyldesley (13/08/2008 at 09:04)

I see that the M.E.N sensor police are at it again,

I am going to stop writing comments to this site , as you only seem to get them published if you say what they M.E.N wants to hear.

They never published my first comment on this story today, and all because I said the kid was obviously not very well brought up.

oh well goodbye

Eveningstar, Withington Manchester (13/08/2008 at 09:12)

This just beggars belief.
What a perverse society we live in thanks to New Labour.
I used to get a damn good hiding if I stepped out of line when I was young.
I find todays mamby pamby brigade totally alien to the way I was brought up.
This cannot continue common sense needs to prevail.
I would put the loony mamby pamby brigade on a shark infested island out of the way never to be seen or heard of again.

Chris B (13/08/2008 at 09:17)

I think that some one should ask the daughter why she thought it was appropriate to ring the police and have her dad arrested if she thought he was right to slap her as a punishment. The era of the mobile phone means that kids use the police to hide behind when they are punished, and then regret it when they realise you can't then just say "oh never mind officer, I don't want anything done about it now." Perhaps she needs to learn about the severity of making this kind of report before calling the police in future.

The Real Ferrari (13/08/2008 at 09:27)

violence solves nothing. he should have spoke to his daughter, not resorted to violence. 2 wrongs don't make a right

Melandra (13/08/2008 at 09:29)

What a shame, perhaps when this child has her hand out for cash, trainers etc and realises her father has no income she will get the shock she needed. As for the parent good on you, a slap is what lots of unruly kids are needing, at least he attempted to do something to stop her unruly behaviour, if she had knocked the window and ther person inside the house was elderly and had a heart attack this young lady could be in a young offenders institute for a good few years, rather a slap now than locked up for years. I remeber my young son having a tantrum for his own way he must have been about 7 or 8. I warned him to stop he didnt so I removed him from the shop we were in pulled his shorts down and slapped his backside. He didnt do it again, it wasnt the slap iut was me pulling down his shorts and the embarassment, of course this was before the do gooders stepped in and changed the law. Its done nothing, kids are still getting abused, people are getting light sentences and this poor chap has had his life taken away.

want to leave, Stretford (13/08/2008 at 09:36)

So six months down the line when the daughter has been given an ASBO - who is going to be blamed for her behaviour? Her Dad.
The blame will really lie with the EU Human Rights Act, the Police and all the left-wing liberal PC brigade who never, ever admit they are in the wrong.

Frostee, Oldham (13/08/2008 at 09:38)

I am beginning to detest this stupid, horrible little country with all its pettiness, triviality and ludicrous sanctions on good, hard working people.

The real criminals in this cesspit of a country get away with almost anything whilst ludicrous nonsenses are pursued with all the might of our crass law enforcers and the growing bands of jobsworths.

I feel so sorry for this man who was doubtless trying to discipline his daughter rather than being cruel or doing anything nasty. This case epitomises how low we have sunk.

Leo B (13/08/2008 at 09:46)

What an unpleasant kid....

Peter Beagrie`s beagle (13/08/2008 at 09:53)

When I was a kid there was corporal punishment in school, bobbies on the beat could give a kid a clip round the ear and children had discipline. I grew up to be a hard working, law abiding citizen. Nowadays all that has gone and kids can report their own parents to the police!! Then the government wonder why this country is in the mess it is.

jonah, usa (13/08/2008 at 10:02)

The act of hitting another person is violence. No form of violence (except that of consenting adults) should be tolerated.

Neoware1978, Stockport (13/08/2008 at 10:05)

When I was growing up in the mid to late eighties if I ever put one foot out of line my father would give me a right good pasting, I look back now and think it was the best thing that he could have done, it not only taught me discipline and respect but made me the person I am today.

In my opinion the do gooders are the one that need a slap, they are partly responsible for todays society being the way it is.

Parents are punished for doing the right thing, its totally bizzare.

The government wont bring back national service or borstals and why not, is it because they dont work or is it because the governemnt is too busy spending billions on so-called iconic sculptures and flooding the UK's economy with immigrants.

Well for a start national service and borstals did work and the evidence is clear that they did.

I for one would not mind paying an extra £3 per week in tax to fund such schemes, just imagine what the UK would be like with 16 - 21 year olds doing there bit and off the streets, learning discipline and respect whilst learning a skill.

£3 a week from every tax payer that earns over £15k a year, come on Britain lets get it right for once.

Ace Shakepseare, manchester (13/08/2008 at 10:06)

The UK is on its way to sharia law because our kids are getting way to far out of control and then grow up to be out of control adults this leads to anarchy..."this is the truth of the problem" this man should be able to control his children.

V P of Manchester, Manchester (13/08/2008 at 10:08)

I am glad that some people have a brain, yes it is the Goverment and PC Brigade who are to blame for this. As the Dad said if I had not just admitted it and excepted the caution I may be OK. What would all you dogooders have said if the Police had turned a blind eye and the girl ended up dead.

There is no disipline in this country anymore and kids think that they are adults and rule the roost, and they certainly have no respect for the Police.

I feel sorry for this guy as it sounds like he is a very decent person trying to give back to the community.

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