SILVER END: CAR SALESMAN JAILED FOR SMACKING CHILDREN
A man who smacked a friend's children when they were "misbehaving" has been jailed.Martin Morgan-Owen, 36, of Grooms Lane, Silver End, regularly smacked the two children on the bare bottom to let them know right from wrong but without the parents' knowledge.
Morgan-Owen, a married car salesman with no children of his own, had already admitted eight charges of common assault at an earlier hearing.
He was jailed for two months for each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently, when he appeared before magistrates in Chelmsford on Thursday.
The prosecution, Martin Ivory, told the court that the smackings had come to light on May 7 when one of the children told her mother that Morgan-Owen had regularly smacked both her and her brother when he visited.
Morgan-Owen had been a friend of the family for eight years.
When interviewed by police, they said he would pull down any clothing they were wearing and smack them on the bare bottom.
The children stated they were hit hard enough that it hurt them.
On other occasions, the court heard they were hit with a slipper and a plastic ruler.
Neither parent was aware of what was going on.
After being arrested, Morgan-Owen said it was because that was the way he had been punished as a child.
The court's mitigation, Mark Holt, explained Morgan-Owen had been raised in a loving environment but had been smacked both by his parents and friends when they looked after him, which he thought was acceptable behavior.
Mr Holt added, "It may be that his methods of chastising children are outdated.
That is not something he was aware of at the time."
