LITTLE ELM — A Denton County minister is accused of beating up a child after church.
Police are investigating the incident that happened after Sunday service at Point Church in Little Elm.
Witnesses say Jared Rost pinned 13-year-old T.J. Flores on the ground and smacked him with his elbows and with a stick.
Rost, 36, is a member of Point Church and president of Power for Life ministries, a group of body builders who use their strength to attract others to their faith.
Rost, who weighs more than 250 pounds, admits he pinned the child down because, he says, the teenager was hitting his 10-year-old son.
In a phone interview with News 8, Rost said, "I was defending my son. I did what any other father would do; I don't apoligize for that."
Rost doesn't admit to hitting him, but the teenager received two black eyes and multiple bruises to his body.
"There's no justification for what this man did to my son," said Laura Flores. "He doesn't practice what he preaches."
Little Elm police are investigating the case and will decide whether to file charges next week.
E-mail craigcivale@wfaa.com
