A Roseville man whipped his 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son with a belt and a cord for changing the television from a Christian channel and then lying about it, according to a criminal complaint.

Stanley C. Ogbonna, 37, was charged Friday by summons with two counts of malicious punishment of a child, a gross misdemeanor, and ordered to appear in court on April 28.

According to the charges:

On Dec. 13, a social worker at the children's school told police about marks discovered on a female student's arm. The complaint listed "large welts on her right forearm, as well as bruises and marks on her left arm, right shoulder and behind her ear."

The girl told the officer that her father struck her several times with a belt and a cord for changing the TV channel in their apartment.

The officer then spoke with the girl's brother, who said his father whipped him with a belt or a cord nearly every day. A medical evaluation found wounds on both children indicating that they both had been whipped by their father over a length of time.

A day later, Ogbonna told police that he became angry after noticing that the TV was no longer on a Christian channel. He added that both children lied about the channel being switched. While acknowledging striking his daughter with a cord about the head or neck, he denied striking the children at other times.

Ogbonna declined to comment Tuesday when contacted by phone.

County attorney spokesman Paul Gustafson said that state law prohibited authorities from saying whether the children are still with their father or in protective care. The case was presented to authorities in March as evidence was collected.

Staff writer Chao Xiong contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482