A woman charged with assaulting her young son with a belt told police that the boy had been causing trouble in school.While she admitted using the boy’s school belt to discipline him, she said the punishment did not leave any visible injuries.“[My son] was not being abused at any time either by me or [my husband]. I told [my son] he would get three licks and he got three licks.“I would go crazy if I thought someone was giving my son more than three licks. He’s a baby. He’s not an adult.”The woman and her husband, a serving police officer, are both charged with assaulting her son on a date between May 1 and May 31 this year. Both have denied the offence.While she has admitted striking the child with a belt, she argues that she did so as corporal punishment, which is allowed by law providing that the force used is reasonable. Her husband meanwhile denies ever striking the child with a belt.Neither the complainant nor the defendants can be identified for legal reasons.The court had heard that injuries to the boy’s upper thigh and buttocks were revealed to the Police and the Department of Child and Family Services on June 1 this year.The complainant himself took the stand earlier in the trial, telling the court that his mother and stepfather caused the injuries by striking him with different belts.Asked by his stepfather if his birth father had told him what to say, the young boy said his father had only told him to stay brave.Yesterday, the Magistrates’ Court watched a recorded interview with the complainant’s mother, who alleged that the boy’s birth father had repeatedly harassed and threatened her over the past few years.Reading a written statement, she told officers that she had repeatedly gone to police about his behaviour, but didn’t believe that anything was being done. She said she believed her relationship with her husband did not help matters, saying the police service has a “grievance” against him.Regarding her son, she said the young boy has had problems with his behaviour in school. She said the youngster has bullied other children, and even pushed teachers when he did not get his way.She told officers: “The problem I have is when he is in my home he understands what is expected of him, but when he goes to his father’s home he is left to his own devices.”Questioned by the officers, she said she turned to corporal punishment as a last resort after other punishments, like sending the boy to bed early and taking away his toys, failed to make a lasting impact.“When I smacked [my son] first, I used my hand and gave him two smacks to his butt. In my opinion, that didn’t last a second,” she said. “There was no remorse. The next time I used three good smacks. My hand hurt when I smacked him.”She admitted using a belt to smack her son in May, before Bermuda Day, but was unsure about the specific date. On that occasion, she said teachers had contacted her about her son’s bad behaviour.“I really didn’t want to go there, but I had no choice because I already told him,” she said. “I took his belt from him, a small belt that he wore to school, and I gave him three slaps on his butt. Then I sent him to his room.”She said that following the incident the boy did not appear to be injured, and she didn’t see any visible markings on the child.She further told the officers that while her husband was allowed to punish her son, she never saw him do so.A cousin of the victim also testified yesterday, telling the court the victim was at her house playing days after the incident when he noticed her son wrapping up a belt with his hand.He allegedly told his cousin: “That is the belt [my stepfather] beat me with.”Describing the belt, she said it had silver metal rings that ran along the belt, each one large enough to put a finger through.Asked for a demonstration as to how he was hit, she said the boy folded the belt in half, leaving the buckle hanging loose.“He showed me the scarring on his leg,” she told the court. “His upper leg going up to his buttocks. He said that these marks were from the belt that [his stepfather] used on him.”The trial is set to continue this morning.