Getting kids to do their chores can be a headache. I know that when I ask my kid to do things around the house outside of what he normally does, he gets all huffy about it. That’s how teens are. I call him out on his attitude, and he begrudgingly does what I ask. As frustrating as it is to deal with him giving me a hard time, I’ve never thought to hit him. But not all parents are the same.
Dusty Joe Palmer, a dad living in Illinois, is facing charges after getting physical with his son over chores. Although the boy was certainly being a sassy teenager, there’s no excuse for the dad’s behavior.
Authorities found the boy bloody when they arrived.
A deputy from the Will County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of someone bleeding from the nose and mouth as well as yelling around 5:35 p.m. on April 5, 2026, the Channahon-Minooka Patch reported. Court documents viewed by the outlet noted the 13-year-old boy “was visibly shaken up and overwhelmed with the situation at hand.”
The boy told deputies that his stepgrandma told him to peel potatoes for their Easter dinner, per Patch. He added that family were “coming at him and yelling at him about the potatoes so he went to a bedroom.”
That’s when things apparently turned violent.
According to the boy, Palmer “then came into the room and told him he was going to beat him up.” The boy “began putting his phone up to record the incident” and Palmer “then started ‘beating him,’” prosecutors told Will County Judge Chrystel Gavlin.
He told authorities that Palmer punched him in the face. Sheriff’s Deputy Randich saw redness and swelling on the left side of the boy’s face, as well as dried blood around his nose, court documents read, per Patch.
Palmer gave a statement to the sheriff’s office.
“Dusty Joe stated about an hour ago (the boy) was in an argument with his stepmom,” prosecutors said.
The man “then went into a bedroom … to speak to him about the argument with his stepmom. Dusty Joe told (the boy) to come out of the bedroom and stop sulking about the argument. Dusty Joe stated (the boy) stuck his phone in his face and said, ‘I’ll call the cops on you,’” court documents read, per Patch.
He then reportedly slapped the phone out of the boy’s hand and took a step toward him. “I grabbed him and I slapped the s— out of him, he fell on the bed and ran out of the house,” Palmer admitted. He also admitted to grabbing the boy by the collar and slapping him across the face.
Deputies spoke with the boy again at the hospital.
Once the boy was no longer in a “heightened state,” deputies wanted to get a better sense of what happened.
“He further explained while Dusty Joe was grabbing him by the neck, Dusty Joe hit him in the face approximately 10 times with a closed fist. Once Dusty Joe stopped hitting him, he ran out of the house and ran down the street to the neighbor’s house,” prosecutors shared, per Patch.
The boy explained that when Palmer grabbed him by the throat he didn’t lose consciousness, but it was hard to breathe. At the time, his face was still red and there was some swelling. A bruise was also forming.
Palmer faces multiple charges.
During his court appearance, Palmer was informed that an emergency order of protection was taken out against him to keep him away from the boy. Based on online records, the order was filed by the boy’s mother, who lives with the boy in a different city.
He was charged with aggravated domestic battery and two crimes of domestic battery, Patch reported.
The judge informed Palmer that he will undergo electronic monitoring, which wasn’t welcome news to the man. When asked how long he will have to wear the ankle monitor, Gavlin said it will be reviewed at any pretrial hearings. Palmer is expected in court again on April 29. After three days at Will County Jail, Palmer was released April 8.
