![Sauk Rapids Man Charged With Malicious Punishment of a Child](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2023/12/attachment-Christopher-Smith.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Sauk Rapids Man Charged With Malicious Punishment of a Child
FOLEY (WJON News) -- A Sauk Rapids man faces criminal charges after allegedly beating three boys and shooting them with a pepper ball gun as punishment.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Benton County District Court, 35-year-old Christopher Smith is charged with three counts of malicious punishment of a child and three counts of domestic assault.
Court records show authorities got a tip about child abuse at a home in the 300 block of 2nd Avenue South.
The children, ages 16, 13, and 8 years old said Smith would put them in standing timeouts for hours at a time. The three also corroborated details that Smith had shot all three in the back with a pepper ball gun. The oldest child said he was also hit with a bat and an ironing board, while the middle child indicated he had been hit with a belt.
All three victims told authorities that Smith drinks alcohol heavily.
Smith was arrested on Monday and booked into the Benton County Jail.
READ RELATED ARTICLES
- Minnesota Snowmobilers Sit Idle as Trails Open for the Season
- Officials Net Large Number of Invasive Carp in Mississippi River
- MnDOT Brings Back the Name a Snowplow Contest
- Minnesota DNR Urging Patience, Cautious on Newly Formed Ice
- Minnesota DNR Sets Winter Walleye Bag Limits on Two Popular Lakes
LOOK: 20 of the biggest insects in the world
Gallery Credit: Andrea Vale
LOOK: Here are the states where you are most likely to hit an animal
Gallery Credit: Dom DiFurio & Jacob Osborn
LOOK: Oldest Disneyland Rides From 1955 to Today
Gallery Credit: Angela Brown
More From AM 1240 WJON
![Sartell Man Pleads Guilty to Hitting and Killing Pedestrian](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2023/07/attachment-Tyler-Nies.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Three People Charged in Fatal Overdose of Sauk Rapids Teenager](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/04/attachment-Anthony-Costello.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Rockville Man Pleads Guilty in Crash That Killed his Passenger](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2023/08/attachment-Aler-Gomez-Lucas.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![St. Cloud Man Pleading Guilty to Separate Sexual Assaults](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/03/attachment-Robert-Epps.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Benton County Man Found Competent in Police Shooting Case](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/02/attachment-Karl-Holmberg.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Benton County Judge Sentences Man in Fatal Drunk Driving Crash](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/02/attachment-Paul-Bergman.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Undergoing Competency Exam in Benton County Police Shooting](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/02/attachment-Karl-Holmberg.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Pleads Guilty to Beating Another Man at St. Cloud Shelter](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2023/11/attachment-Marlon-Whitaker.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Former Benton County Attorney Acquitted of Groping Girl](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2018/10/Courtroom.jpg?w=980&q=75)