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PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE TARENTUM, PA A Tarentum woman and her boyfriend face criminal charges after the woman's young sons told police the couple made them fist-fight each other as part of "training." Joyce Sabotka, 30, and Steven Meyer, 32, are both charged with endangering the welfare of a child; Mr. Meyer, who Allegheny County police detectives said struck one of the boys, was also charged with simple assault. In late July, the father of the boys, ages 6 and 9, told Tarentum police that he "discovered numerous bruises" on the older son's buttocks after picking him up from his ex-wife's house, according to a criminal complaint. He told police he had taken the boy to Children's Hospital, where doctors had photographed the wounds. A few days later, a child advocacy specialist interviewed the 9-year-old, who told her that Mr. Meyer "hit him four or five times with a plastic paddle" and that Ms. Sabotka did not attempt to stop him, the complaint says. The boy also said that Mr. Meyer "makes him and his 6-year-old brother fist fight," and refers to it as "training." The fighting took place at least 20 times in Ms. Sabotka's bedroom, and she was present each time, according to the complaint. Mr. Meyer would tell the 6-year-old boy that if he "doesn't beat up [his brother] he will get 10,000 smacks." The 6-year-old told police that even if the brothers don't want to fight, Mr. Meyer "makes them fight and smacks them if they refuse," the complaint says.
PITTSBURGHLIVE.com A Tarentum woman and her boyfriend face child endangerment charges for allegedly forcing the woman's 9-year-old and 6-year-old sons to fight each other. Allegheny County police claim that Joyce Sabotka, 30, allowed her boyfriend, Steven Meyer, 32, to stage fights between the boys at the couple's home in the 200 block of West 10th Avenue. The older boy told police that Meyer forced him and his brother to fight at least 20 times, according to a police complaint filed at District Judge Carolyn Bengel's office. It was unclear when the alleged fights began. Police said they first learned of the incidents July 26 when the older boy's father contacted Tarentum police to report that he found bruises on the boy's buttocks. Sabotka's ex-husband told police he took his son to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment. The hospital documented the wounds, according to the police report. The boy told police that Meyer hit him several times in the bare buttocks with a plastic paddle. The boy's mother was present during the alleged assault but didn't intervene, according to the police complaint. Meyer also faces a charge of simple assault. Police said they also interviewed the younger victim who corroborated the allegations that Meyer forced the boys to fight and that Joyce Sabotka never intervened.
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