Attorney charged with child abuse

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Prosecutors filed a felony child abuse charge Friday against an attorney accused of repeatedly striking his 14-year-old son with his hand and a riding crop. <br/><br/>Robert Eliot

Saturday, November 6th 2004, 5:19 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Prosecutors filed a felony child abuse charge Friday against an attorney accused of repeatedly striking his 14-year-old son with his hand and a riding crop.

Robert Eliot Sisson, 46, is accused of striking his son on Oct. 6 at least 40 times on his forearms and legs with a two-foot-long riding crop, which resembles a whip, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

The affidavit says the next morning, Sisson hit his son in the face with his hand, leaving scratches and bruises on his face.

The boy was taken into protective custody on Oct. 8 after he told a school counselor what had happened. He said his father struck him ``because he had lied about having trouble with his grades at school,'' according to the affidavit.

The child said his father struck him once before at the beginning of the school year when he had not cleaned his room properly, the affidavit said.

When questioned by police, Sisson said ``he did not know that he was doing anything wrong at the time of the incident,'' the affidavit states.

Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane said Sisson surrendered himself at the Oklahoma County Detention Center Friday.