Teen Beaten By Family Acquaintance

A man who beat a teenager with a metal pipe with permission from the boy’s father has been arrested for felony willful cruelty to a child on Tuesday.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s are now asking anyone who may have been a victim of Paul Kim, 39, to report the incident to local law enforcement.

Sheriff’s and police officials said the unusual story began with a report to Irvine Police. Officials with a high school in that city noticed a 15-year-old student had deep bruising on the back of his leg, sheriff’s investigators said.

Investigators learned that the teen victim's family attended the same church as Kim in La Habra. According to Irvine Police, the boy’s father took him Kim’s Chino Hills home to be disciplined because the teen had a lighter.

The father suspected his son was smoking, officials said. After questioning the boy, Kim reportedly decided he was lying and, with the father’s permission, struck the boy on the back of the legs about 12 times with a metal pole, sheriff’s officials said. The pole was about 1-inch in diameter, officials said.

Kim was arrested at his home in the 16000 block of Singing Hills Drive in Chino Hills. He was released on bail Dec. 7. No court date has been set, according to jail records.

Investigators ask anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Kim’s to contact the Specialized Investigations Division, Crimes Against Children Detail at (909) 387-3615.