SAN ANTONIO: Investigators say a San Antonio-area couple punished their three young children by forcing one to brush her teeth with cat feces, using a shock collar as punishment and beating them with a thorny switch. Thirty-two-year-old James Chalkley and 22-year-old Cheyanne Chalkley were being held yesterday on charges of injury to a child. James Chalkley is the father of a 3-year-old boy and two girls who are 5 and 10. Cheyanne Chalkley is their stepmother.

Arrest warrants show a teacher noticed bruising on the 5-year-old in September. Investigators say interviews with child-protective workers revealed the extent of their punishments. The 5-year-old told authorities that her father used a dog's shock collar on her that left green marks on her skin. Jail records indicate no attorneys have been appointed for the Chalkleys.