Dad charged after son detained for shoplifting beaten unconscious

A Pennsylvania father has been arrested for allegedly beating his teenage son unconscious for shoplifting clothing, Upper Darby police said. Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said Marvin Francis beat his son "like a piece of meat," the Philadelphia Daily News reported Monday. Francis, 39, was called to the Burlington Coat Factory Friday evening by store security officers who had detained his son and another boy, both 16, for stealing, police said. Francis was the first parent to arrive. He took a broom from a store display and walked into the security office, where, police said he beat his son with the broom. He then punched and kicked his son to the ground before loss prevention officers intervened. Store personnel allowed the father to take his son home, but once outside the store, Francis began beating his son again. "This time he knocks him down, stomps him in the head and knocks him unconscious," Chitwood said. By the time officers arrived, Francis had put the unconscious teenager into his car and left the scene. Police found the boy, conscious, at his mother's home. Officers encouraged the mother to have her son medically examined, but said she was "reluctant." When Francis arrived at the home, he was arrested. He has been charged with aggravated assault and held in lieu of $100,000 bond.