INDIANA COUNTY, Pa. -- A punishment for a 7-year-old Indiana
County boy lands a man in court. And Tuesday night his mother is
defending the punishment.
Diane Blair's boyfriend, Kenneth Fleegle, is charged with forcing
her 7-year-old son to rub feces on himself as a form of
punishment.
Outside a district justice's office in Blairsville, WPXI-TV asked
the mother to explain why the alleged incident happened while she
watched.
Blair said, "I would technically not do it myself, but I would do
it a different way."
The incident allegedly happened in the Blairsville house she shared
with Fleegle.
Blair faces a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment for
allegedly not trying to stop Fleegle.
Blair said, "Just because I didn't stop it, I shouldn't be
condemned. You know what I mean?"
Police said it took an hour to get the boy to talk about the
incident.
They said he told them Fleegle was mad at him and made him smear
feces all over himself.
Fleegle and Blair waved their cases to court.
Police said the boy is living with a foster parent while the case
makes it way through the courts.
A neighbor expressed sympathy for the mother and child.
Marlene Bongianino said, "Sometimes I feel sorry for her, but on
the other hand, you have to take care of your children."
In a court document, Blairsville police said Fleegle told them he
was tired of the little boy "going to the bathroom on the floor
where he wasn't supposed to go."
Indiana County Children and Youth Services is handling the
case.
Meanwhile, Fleegle is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.
