An associate pastor at Atlanta-area megachurch 2819 Church was arrested after police said he beat his 15-year-old stepson with a power cord, leaving the boy with visible bruising.
According to jail records, Kenneth McFarland, 42, was taken into custody by Stockridge police on Nov. 10 and booked into the Henry County Jail on a charge of second-degree cruelty to children. He was later granted a bond of $2500; meanwhile, his case is still under investigation.
The alleged abuse came to light when an assistant principal at Creekside Christian Academy noticed blood on the teen’s pants and asked what happened. According to the police report obtained by USA Today, the child said, “my dad called himself disciplining me” because of an in-school suspension, and told investigators he had been struck with a power cord taken from his gaming system. Officers documented bruising on his upper right thigh and lower buttocks…