It was about 15 years ago.

I was at the Bartlett, Tenn., police station getting the police reports for the paper.

I had lived and worked in Bartlett much of my life at that time and taught judo there, so I knew quite a few people in the area.

Then I ran across a startling police report.

It was a fight between a 13-year-old, who intervened to protect his mother, and the kid’s step father. The thing is, I knew the youngster - I was teaching him judo two nights a week.

And I can tell you, from reading the report and seeing him later, I can tell you the kid took quite a beating.

Friday night, my girlfriend and I watched the movie Precious, which has child abuse as a central theme.

It is a movie that has horrid child abuse as a central theme and it is hard to watch. What’s worse is these things really happen.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

According to the CASA Tennessee web site, Kids Count 2008 reported that there were 17,067 indicated cases of child abuse and neglect in Tennessee in 2006, a rate of 11.7 per 1,000 persons ages 0-17.

Let me tell you, that is 17,067 too many of our children abused and neglected, and I believe most of you would agree.

Now don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with a good old fashioned butt-whippin’, and my dad gave me a couple - and admittedly they were deserved, even if on a couple occasions, my sister was actually the deserving one.

But child abuse is a different matter than getting your rear popped.

And it takes many forms.

We are quite familiar with children who are beaten or sexually abused.

These or horrid crimes and the perpetrators deserve the harshest punishments possible.

But neglect, simple neglect, is also child abuse. And its scars can be just as deep.

There are many signs and symptoms of child abuse and these are taken from the web site http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm:

The following signs may signal the presence of child abuse or neglect.

The Child:

* Shows sudden changes in behavior or school performance

* Has not received help for physical or medical problems brought to the parents' attention

* Has learning problems (or difficulty concentrating) that cannot be attributed to specific physical or psychological causes

* Is always watchful, as though preparing for something bad to happen

* Lacks adult supervision

* Is overly compliant, passive, or withdrawn

* Comes to school or other activities early, stays late, and does not want to go home

The Parent:

* Shows little concern for the child

* Denies the existence of—or blames the child for—the child's problems in school or at home

* Asks teachers or other caregivers to use harsh physical discipline if the child misbehaves

* Sees the child as entirely bad, worthless, or burdensome

* Demands a level of physical or academic performance the child cannot achieve

* Looks primarily to the child for care, attention, and satisfaction of emotional needs

The Parent and Child:

* Rarely touch or look at each other

* Consider their relationship entirely negative

* State that they do not like each other

More specific signs for physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment are available on the previously mentioned site.

To report child abuse or neglect in Tennessee, please call the Child Abuse Hotline: 1-877-237-0004.

You may call Clay Morgan at 670-6989 (cell), 666-2440 (office) or e-mail him at cmorgan@heartlandpublications.com. Clay’s blog is at www.maconcountytimes.com/pages/blogs