I cannot imagine what motivates a person to harm a child. I’ve been frustrated by my child and other people’s children beyond belief, but I can’t imagine raising my actual hand to any of them. My son and I often roughhouse play games such as Nerf guns, sword fighting, and the like, and even when I accidentally hurt him I feel immensely guilty. To think there are people who raise a hand to their kids without batting an eye is mind-blowing to me. And how some are just downright insidiously cruel to them? Unfathomable.
That’s exactly what Curtis Bordenkircher of New Palestine, Indiana, stands accused of. According to court records, Bordenkircher was charged with four felony counts of “neglect of a dependent def. abandons or cruelly confines the dependent,” and two counts of “intimidation: threat to commit a forcible felony” in relation to four unnamed children.
People reported that the man allegedly beat four of the children with a belt, threatened to suffocate them, and forced them to stand in a corner until their legs gave out. A probable cause affidavit obtained by Fox 59 stated police were informed of his crimes on October 17, 2025, when the local Department of Child Safety received a report of a young girl with signs of bruising from being whipped by a belt. The affidavit goes on to state there is reason to believe Bordenkircher was abusing that child and three others and that at least one of the kids texted their mother and made them aware of the abuse.
Authorities reportedly interviewed the kids and asked them if they were “having a good time” and all four shook their heads no, prompting two of them to cry. One of the victims alleged that Bordenkircher drank “beer, after beer, after beer,” and would get increasingly angry with them the more he drank. The affidavit noted that he was even drinking a can of beer as he was speaking to authorities. In addition to hitting them with a belt, he would force them to stand a corner until their legs “were numb.”
One child claimed he even grabbed her by the throat and pushed her through a wall for talking. He also reportedly threatened to both “suffocate” them and “slaughter them in their sleep” if they didn’t “shut up,” according to the Daily Reporter. He allegedly held a knife to their throats while saying this as well.
Bordenkircher was released on a $600 bail and pleaded “not guilty” to his charges. The judge issued a no-contact order for the children. Bordenkircher will return to court on December 4.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
