LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- A Lehigh Acres man and woman have been charged with Cruelty Toward a Child after investigators say they found marks from a stun gun on four children.
28-year-old Joshua Louis is facing 4 charges of child abuse, and 33-year-old Roxanne Paduani is facing 2 charges.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the Department of Children and Families received a report via the Florida Abuse Hotline about the case, claiming four children were being punished with a stun gun.
An investigation revealed Louis and Roxanne Paduani did own a stun gun and that they were using it as a tool to deter the children from misbehaving. The stun gun inflicted pain and left visible marks on two of the children.
Neighbors said the kids were all ages ten and under.
Both Louis and Paduani were arrested and transported to the Lee County Jail.
"That was unbelievable. Treating your children like that is unacceptable," Neighbor Mario Dominguez said. "Sometimes I heard screaming. I don't know if they were playing or if they were being tased."
"It's terrible. It's like sickening. And to even hear about it is just disturbing," Neighbor Giancarlo Semansky said.
A DCF spokesperson said the children are in the care of a relative.
