Michael Porter: Police say Michigan man 'water-boarded' five-year-old boy who ripped his backpack

Man has been detained and charged with eight offences

Michael Porter

A man in Michigan has been taken into custody after allegedly water-boarding his girlfriend’s five-year-old son as a punishment for ripping his school backpack.

Police have charged Michael Porter, 30, with eight crimes, including three counts of child abuse after the youngster was tied up with belts, had a piece of clothing placed over his mouth and poured water on his nose and mouth.

“It was the water-boarding technique. He said had watched it on a movie,” Mount Morris police Chief Keith Becker told The Independent. “We don’t know what movie it was.”

He added: “He tied the boy to a stool, put a garment over the face and then poured the water over him.”

Mr Becker said an unidentified woman had also been detained in relation to the case and was expected to be brought before a judge later on Tuesday.

NBC said that school officials notified police after noticing that the boy had started acting differently. The report said police believe that Mr Porter, of Flint, also prodded his girlfriend’s 12-year-old son in the chest and throat with a knife. Both boys have been taken out of the home, police said.

Mr Porter has been charged with unlawful imprisonment, child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held on a $400,000 bond and has yet to enter a plea to the charges.