The parents of a 4-year-old boy filed in a lawsuit alleging in November of 2014, their son was beaten by an instructor at Anderson’s Taekwondo Center, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The lawsuit alleges that the child’s mother, Carrie Campbell, found “severe black, blue, purple and red colored bruising” on her son; documents in support of the case include photographic evidence.
The suit alleges that the child was paddled in a “punishment room” by Bobby Sykes, 35, after Sykes noted a sad face in the boy’s pre-K daily school folder. The lawsuit further alleges that the children were told the punishment was called “ice cream and cake,” and were forced to select one of three paddles to be used to administer the beating. The largest paddle was reportedly called “Black Thunder.” Attorney Hal Cook reported that the instructor would count to 10 and if students cried during the countdown, they would get paddled again.
“He was telling me that he was getting ‘ice cream and cake’, but I didn’t know that it was that until I took him to a birthday party,” cried one mother, Monica Dowie.
One girl recalled a time she was paddled 15-20 times on her buttocks, and alleged that instructors would tape kids’ wrists to chairs, so they were unable to protect themselves during the abuse.
Sykes was arrested and charged with 2nd degree battery.
The facility’s prior Hold Liability Release Waiver Agreement that parents signed contained a clause saying, “I also give authority to Chief Master Anderson to discipline my child if needed.”
The entire suit against dojang owner Richard Anderson, a 9th degree black belt with the American TaeKwonDo Association, can be found here.
The American Taekwondo Association suspended the facility license.
“ATA International, Inc., takes this allegation very seriously and does not condone any form of corporal punishment as part of the ATA curriculum. After being made aware of the allegation late this afternoon, ATA took swift and decisive action to suspend the licensee Mr. Anderson from any further participation with ATA. ATA holds all of its worldwide licensees to the highest of standards and has a zero tolerance policy for this type of behavior.”
Anderson’s Taekwondo Center’s lawyer, Jason Stuart, said the claims in the lawsuit were completely false.
Anderson was also reportedly arrested on June 8, 2006, following criminal allegation of child abuse, assault and battery, and child maltreatment, but he was never charged in the matter.
A year has passed, and Anderson is still teaching. The facility has been recertified by the relevant Arkansas state government agency, but enrollment has dropped from nearly 60 students last year to the 18 seen at Tuesday night’s belting ceremony.
“I had 42 students downtown when the story broke, I had no idea, no clue,” said Chief Master Anderson to FOX 16. “I thought it would be an easy fix but it went a lot deeper than that.”
“I didn’t commit murder, I didn’t shoot anybody, I didn’t get drunk and fall in the street and I definitely didn’t beat any kids.”
“Now every child that I take it hurts because that’s more toilet paper, that’s more water, that’s more lights.”
“For anyone that knows me and everyone that knows me can look in my eyes, look at what we do, look at my children they will know the truth and the truth will prevail.”
