Staten Island: The Land That Dr. Spock Forgot

Time was, you could rub hot peppers on your child’s genitals. That’s apparently not true anymore:

A 10-year-old boy from Charleston did not want to sit at his desk at a Staten Island elementary school last week, his teacher noticed.

She soon discovered why: His rear end was sore and bruised from a belt lashing he received from his stepfather the night before.

If this had happened 25 years ago, it may have been met with an ambivalent shrug.

But today, stricter reporting requirements, more aggressive prosecution and growing public awareness means “traditional” childhood discipline can lead to criminal charges much more frequently.

The man who allegedly doled out the corporal punishment, 30-year-old Ukraine native Alexandr Privler, was charged with a felony, assault with intent to cause physical injury with a weapon, and a misdemeanor, acting in a manner injurious to a child.

. . .

Over the past five years, arrests and convictions of cases in Staten Island in which endangering the welfare of a child — the most common charge in child-abuse cases — have gradually risen, according to the state Department of Criminal Justice statistics.

. . .

The unusual case of Clifton resident Ganganue Gonseh last April is a glaring example. A native of Liberia, Gonseh punished his then 8-year-old and 11-year-old boys by making them strip naked, then rubbing a hot yellow pepper on their faces — including their eyes — and on their genitals. The boys were brought home by police for skipping school and allegedly shoplifting video games at a Hylan Boulevard store earlier that day.

The two kids were treated at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton for itching and skin irritation, and Gonseh was charged with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of child.

The father argued that the disciplinary practice — called “Hot Peppering” –is common practice in many African countries and in parts of this country. He eventually pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and a disorderly conduct violation, with the provision that the endangering charges would be dropped once he completed a parenting course.