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Kim hit the child with a metal pole about a dozen times, causing severe bruising on his legs, according to Bachmann. The pole was about an inch in diameter, investigators said.

An adult at the boy’s school saw the bruises and called Irvine police, who in turn informed San Bernardino County officials, she said.

Kim was arrested Tuesday at his home and released Thursday after posting bail. He faces a felony charge of willful cruelty to a child. No court date has been set, according to jail records.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office was reviewing the sheriff’s department report and will decide whether to charge the teen’s father, Bachman said. It wasn’t immediately known whether the father was present at the time of the beating.

The names of the boy and his parents were not released.

Investigators believe Kim has been used in this way by other families in the congregation, and asked for victims and witnesses to come forward.

The name of the church was not released but Bachman said it was located in La Habra.

It wasn’t immediately known whether Kim had hired an attorney. A message left at a Chino Hills listing with his name was not returned Saturday.

SEE ALSO:

Sixty percent of black girls have experienced sexual abuse at the hands of black men before reaching the age of 18, according to an ongoing study conducted by Black Women’s Blueprint.

More than 300 black women nationwide have participated in the study so far and 700 more are being sought to take in the survey by March 2012.

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Farah Tanis, Co-Founder of the New York-based organization and co-author of the study, says the issue of domestic and sexual abuse in the black community is rarely discussed and that a sixty percent rate should be a wake-up call to black women.

“A similar study which was conducted by The Black Women’s Health Imperative seven years ago found that that number was about 40 percent,” Tanis says. “So that means there is an increase and we need to stop neglecting that issue.”

D.C. Has No Love For Women Of Color

The study comes just as U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) introduced legislation reauthorizing the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) this week.

While domestic violence advocates praise both senators’ efforts to strengthen the bill, Tanis and other advocates who deal specifically with minority women are advocating for language in the new act that specifically allocates funds to communities of color. More specifically, Tanis and her organization are seeking funding for small community groups which have closer cultural ties to women of color that larger organizations don’t have.

Rita Smith, the Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a Denver-based national organization that develops policy on domestic violence issues, says smaller domestic violence groups are often better equipped to work with women of color than larger, more traditional organizations.

“Reports from these local communities to their national representatives has made it clear for some time that victims who are Latino, African American, Asian and Native American have not been served adequately by mainstream programs,” Smith says. “For some communities it is important to establish services that address the cultural, spiritual or immigration status needs of victims, and while some mainstream programs attempt to respond to those needs, they are not universally addressing them in sufficient numbers.”

VAWA, as it is currently written, does include language that allots “grants for outreach and services to under-served populations.” But no racial language is written into the act. Federal law prohibits legislation that earmarks government funding based on race.

Back in 2005 when VAWA was being reauthorized, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) fought unsuccessfully for race-specific language to be kept in a final draft of the act. He and several of his congressional colleagues expressed what they felt was Washington’s utter disregard for women of color.

“This language was necessary because the bureaucrats at the Department of Justice were ignoring communities of color when considering grants from domestic violence, rape prevention and other organizations,” Conyers argued in Congress.

Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), also lobbied for stronger language to be including in VAWA.

“By addressing domestic violence in these communities in a way that understands their culture and honors their values, we greatly increase the chances of making a difference for women of color who are being abused,”  she said.

Washington’s historic rebuff to race-language provisions does not surprise Olivia Dowd at all.

An outreach coordinator for Black Women’s Blueprint, Dowd feels policy makers have something of an elitist outlook concerning which organizations should get funding and who should be in charge of managing the resources.

She says she has been in domestic violence sessions with mostly black women where she, despite her years of on-the-ground experience with women of color, often has to play second fiddle to a 20 or 30-something white woman with a graduate degree but lacks the sophisticated sass and ethnic intuition black women need to be uplifted emotionally from abusive relationships.

“OK, this is the deal. Take this ‘V’ and put it on your head and then another ‘V’ because you are warrior women so get over it,”Dowd said, mocking a traditional letter-game exercise that encourages women in recovery to express themselves.

“As black women, that’s how we talk to one another. That’s how we grew up. As oppose to being the white missionary saying ‘Oh, the poor natives, how bad! Let me kiss your wounds.’ [Black women] don’t work like that. That doesn’t work with us.”

Call To Action

Domestic violence advocates say black women should be particularly active in writing and calling their congressmen to support the reauthorization of the VAWA because it affects them more than any other racial group. In fact, Black women experience domestic violence at a rate 35 percent higher than white women.

Advocates say VAWA needs to include language that:

1.) Puts control of domestic and sexual abuse prevention in the hands of the community, and placing less emphasis on law enforcement. “Police are not the only answer,” Tanis says.

2.) Empowers members of immigrant communities who, for example, would go to their Vodoun or Santeria priest for help before reaching out to a more traditional source of assistance like a domestic violence hotline.

3.) Specifies the different facets of domestic abuse and that verbal violence should be legally prosecutable.

4.) Recognizes that sexual assault in black community is a growing epidemic that requires special attention and resources.

5.) Encourages and educates men, especially black men, on the issue domestic and sexual violence.

This final point, is perhaps the most contentious issue of domestic and sexual violence in the black community.

Kereen Odate, Acting Director at the Center for Women’s Development at Medgar Evers College in New York, says black women are reluctant to discuss sexual and domestic abuse for fear of “vilifying the black man.”

Odate says there has always been something of an unexplored history of sexually dysfunctional behavior in the black community that dates back to slavery. For example, Odate cites mating practices that forced black male slaves to have intercourse with female slaves as the origin of shame that keeps black communities silence about domestic and sexual abuse to this very day.

“You were raped,” Odate says, “but you weren’t raped because it was for the for purpose of making more kids to work on the plantation, so there’s a whole history involved.”

Tanis, citing the 60 percent sexual assault rate, urges black women to be more proactive in advocacy issues like supporting VAWA because no one else will fight for needs on Capital Hill.

“Its critical, whether or not we feel comfortable talking and doing something about it,” Tanis says”

NEWSONE RESOURCES: Are You Being Abused?

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, there are organizations nationwide just a phone call away that can assist you.

Safe Horizon Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.621.HOPE (4673)

National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or (206) 787-3224 (Video Phone for Deaf Callers)

For more resources on how domestic and sexual abuse affects the black community, see the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community’s fact sheet.

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“I hit him with a pot, and I’m glad I did!” a steamed Aretavia Kimbrough, 28, allegedly told cops after nailing boyfriend Charmean Allen, 28, with the pot, leaving him with a 4-inch gash and a big lump on his head.

“I’ve been with him for seven years, and he never bought me nothing! ”

But Allen, who has an 8-month-old son with Kimbrough, later insisted to The Post, “I was going to get her balloons and candy and take her to dinner.

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Villa, 32, was at the register at Crescent Chemists on 34th Ave. in Long Island City when Figueroa, 38, walked in with the flowers about 3:45 p.m. Thursday, sources said.

“They talk and then I heard ‘Pop!’” said witness Maria Lombar, 65. “I saw her on the ground. She went down dead. Blood was all over.”

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Miami – Three children were hospitalized Tuesday, just days after they became the victims of a violent murder-suicide that claimed the life of their mother at the hands of her boyfriend, Mark Glinton.

Family members said Quentin Jack, 13, who was shot twice and is paralyzed from the chest down, jumped in the way as Glinton took aim at 2-year-old brother Christian.

“He threw his body over my two-year-old nephew and he took a bullet to his spine so we’re kind of concerned about that,” said Antoinette Jack, Evelina’s sister.

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Nebraska (TheSmokingGun)–Tressa Amerson a 19-year-old woman from Lincoln, Nebraska is being charged with domestic assault after her boyfriend, Ronald Miner, claimed that she attempted to cut a tattoo off his neck that had her name.

Miner said Amerson “grabbed a knife and attempted to cut the tattoo of her name off his neck.” A cop reported that Miner had the name “Tressa” inked on the left side of his neck, and that he “observed what appeared to be two scratch marks that ran across the tattoo.” Miner is pictured here in a mug shot snapped last month following his bust for an outstanding bench warrant.

When questioned by police, Amerson denied assaulting Miner, saying that she had “been sleeping all day.” Cops recovered a small paring knife from the living room floor, reporting that “this was believed to be the knife used.”

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Krystal Gardner is suing two male officers and the Westland Police Department, for $2 million over the assault she alleges happened Aug. 18. The 25-year-old Wayne woman was in custody after being arrested because of a domestic dispute involving her sister, when she was reportedly beaten and abused.

Gardner said the officers further humiliated her by causing her skirt to lift up and exposing her vaginal area when they kicked her between the legs.

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Noticing and acknowledging the warning signs and symptoms of domestic violence and abuse is the first step to ending it. No one should live in fear of the person they love. If you recognize yourself or someone you know in the following warning signs and descriptions of abuse, don’t hesitate to reach out. There is help available.

Warning Signs:

1. Is your partner threatening or violent towards you or the children?

2. Do you find yourself making excuses or minimizing your partner’s behavior?

3. Do you feel completely controlled by your partner?

4. Do you feel helpless, trapped, alone, and isolated?

5. Do you blame yourself for the violence?

6. Does your partner blame you and tell you that you are the cause of all his problems?

7. Do you blame the violence on stress, on drugs/alcohol, or a bad childhood?

8. Does your partner constantly accuse you of having affairs when he can’t account for 100% of your time? Does he/she tell you jealousy is a sign of love?

9. Do you fear going home?

10. Are you limited in your freedom like a child? (Go to the store and come straight home. It should take you 15 minutes.)

11. Do you find yourself lying to hide your partner’s real behavior (for example, saying you fell down the stairs when actually you were pushed)?

12. Are you embarrassed or humiliated by your partner in an effort to control your behavior, especially in public?

13. Does your partner abandon you, leave you places, or lock you out?

14. Does your partner hide your keys, mail, or other important papers?

If you suspect that someone you know is being abused, speak up! If you’re hesitating—telling yourself that it’s none of your business, you might be wrong, or the person might not want to talk about it—keep in mind that expressing your concern will let the person know that you care and may even save his or her life.

Do’s and Don’t's

Do:

• Ask if something is wrong.
• Express concern.
• Listen and validate.
• Offer help.
• Support his or her decisions.

Don’t:

• Wait for him or her to come to you.
• Judge or blame.
• Pressure him or her.
• Give advice.
• Place conditions on your support.

Remember, abusers are very good at controlling and manipulating their victims. People who have been emotionally abused or battered are depressed, drained, scared, ashamed, and confused. They need help to get out, yet they’ve often been isolated from their family and friends. By picking up on the warning signs and offering support, you can help them escape an abusive situation and begin healing.  If someone you know needs help start by reaching out to the Hotline. Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) or 1.800.787.3224

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

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There are few details at the moment, but court records show Mario — whose full name is Mario Dewar Bennett — is charged with one count of second-degree assault. Sources said they were called to the 900 block of Fell St. after the singer’s mother, Shawntia Hardaway called police.

At 12:53 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 900 block of Fells St for a call for a “mental case breaking up property” inside an apartment. Officers met Hardaway in the front lobby — she was crying and appeared very upset, officers wrote. She said Mario was “throwing and damaging property” in the apartment they share, and had pushed her using his hands and forearms, causing minor pain. When police went up to the apartment, they found a damaged china cabinet and the floor littered with broken glass. A mirror was broken, and there was a large hole in a closet door.

She said it was the second such time he had put his hands on her in recent days — on Sept. 27, she said, they got into an argument in which he pushed her “eight feet into a living room wall, where Ms. Hardaway hit her head on the wall,” police wrote in charging documents.

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NJ.com is reporting about an interesting case of domestic violence. A man from Hoboken, NJ is being charged with beating his girlfriend with a cat.

Around noon, Hoboken police were dispatched to the 300 block of Marshall Dr., and a 20-year-old Jersey City woman was crying and told police that her boyfriend punched her a few times and hit her with a “feline cat,” reports said. She said she had pain to her lower back and the back of her head, reports said.

Police then arrested her boyfriend Lasalle Davis with a simple assault charge for domestic violence, reports said.

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