According to Oklahoma state law, parents are not prohibited from "using ordinary force as a means of discipline including, but not limited to, spanking, switching, or paddling."
Under the Oklahoma Department of Human Services child physical abuse policy, a minor injury sustained on a child older than 10 is not considered physical abuse "unless the parents actions that caused the injury created a probability that the child would sustain a more serious injury."
Eulalio Don Cochran Rangel, 32, and his wife, Andrea Marie Lang, 26, both sit in the Tulsa County Jail on child abuse and child neglect complaints after reportedly inflicting more than 30 various injuries on their 9-year-old son's body with belts and cords in what was described by police as punishment.
"We investigate quite a bit of cases where parents get a little out of hand, overzealous and too aggressive," said Sgt. Brandon Wykoff, a detective in the Tulsa Police Department's Child Crisis Unit. "This kid was beaten as bad as we've seen with a belt. This was way overboard. As soon as you see it, that's abuse."
When a child is injured as a result of corporal punishment, detectives, along with DHS social workers, have the grounds to investigate.
"There a fine line between spanking them on the butt to the upper back, lower leg ... there is an obvious difference," Wykoff said.