A worker at the Dollar General Store in Wrightsville was arrested Thursday and charged with spanking a customer's child with a belt. Wrightsville Police Chief Paul Sterling said he had never encountered a case like this before.
Sterling says he and an investigator went to the Dollar General Store after receiving a call from the child's father that his son had been spanked by a store worker with a belt.
Apparently, the 8-year-old boy was running around the store and got into a confrontation with 39-year-old Emilia Graciela Bell. Bell told investigators the boy threw a cookie at her and that's when she removed her belt, chased the boy down and spanked him behind the counter.
The boy's mother and sister, who were also in the store, did not witness the spanking, according to the chief.
The chief says Bell was immediately arrested and admitted to investigators what she did.
Sterling said after consulting with other law enforcement leaders, they charged Bell with simple battery. She was taken to jail and released on bond Friday morning, he said
