Man, 21, Gets 6 Years For Hitting Kids With TV Cord, Domestic Assault

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 21-year-old St. Paul man was sentenced Monday to six years in prison after being found guilty of domestic assault and whipping his young son with a TV cord.

President Pimping Austin Sr. was sentenced to 72 months in prison by Washington County Judge Ellen Maas.

Mass gave Austin the maximum sentence for maliciously punishing a child and added a consecutive sentence for the domestic abuse charge.

Washington County Attorney Pete Orput called Austin's actions "totally abhorrent."

"We are very satisfied," he said, "that the judge handed down consecutive sentences so as to properly reflect the magnitude of the harm done..."

According to a criminal complaint, a nurse at the Children's Hospital in St. Paul reported last December that two children – ages 4 and 2 -- showed evidence of abuse.

The children had been taken to the hospital by their grandmother, who suspected as much. Police said the 2-year-old had suffered whipping injuries to his buttocks, legs, stomach, and genitals.

An investigation led officers to the children's mother, who has a restraining order against Austin. She told officers she'd just been attacked by Austin, who punched and kicked her all over after demanding to see her cell phone. He thought she was talking with another man.

After the assault, Austin took the woman's EBT card.

The woman then told police that Austin whipped their children on November 30. She said she didn't bring the children to a hospital; instead she brought them to their grandmother for care.

Officers arrested Austin on Dec. 7 in Oakdale. They found the woman's EBT card on him.

Prior to Monday's sentencing, Austin had been convicted of domestic assault twice, both in 2011 and 2010.