MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie father was arrested last week after being accused of battering his two young sons.
Blake Allen Clendenen, 24, was being held in the Delaware County Jail under a $20,000 bond, preliminarily charged with two counts each of neglect of a dependent and battery resulting in bodily injury to a person less than 14 years old. He was arrested on Friday.
The children's mother told Delaware County sheriff's deputies that her sons, ages 5 and 3, returned from a weekend visit with their father on June 24 with bruises on their buttocks.
According to an affidavit, the younger child also had bruising to his lower back and arms and a small abrasion near his left eye. His older brother reportedly also had bruises on his lower back and thighs.
The children reportedly said "their dad hits them both with a green spoon," a sheriff's investigator wrote.
One of the children also said his father "holds them by (their) hair when he's hitting them with the spoon," the court document said. Both of the boys were examined by physicians at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.
The boy's mother said Clendenen told her the children had been "grounded" while at his home because they had broken a window.
During a June 25 interview with deputies, Clendenen was "very dismissive" about the allegations and said he stood his children in a corner "for discipline when they misbehave," according to the affidavit.
He also reportedly said he "hits a spatula on the wall as a scare tactic" but denied he had physically harmed his sons.
The Delaware County prosecutor's office will determine whether formal charges will be filed.
Court records reflect no prior charges against Clendenen.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
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