

The Associated Press





WAYNESVILLE, Ohio -- A U.S. landlord is accused of whipping a tenant with a belt on his bare buttocks for falling behind on his rent.

Ron Kronenberger, 53, was charged with assault for the Jan. 22 encounter in his office, police in the Ohio village of Waynesville said. He was due in court Thursday.

Police said the 29-year-old tenant was late with a $2,800 rent payment.

"If you're going to act like a child, I'm going to treat you like one," Kronenberger was quoted in the police report as saying before striking the tenant four times with a belt. The report said the belt left "little marks."

The accuser told Waynesville Police Chief Gary Copeland he submitted to the whipping because "he was scared and just wanted to get it over with," according to the police report.

The Dayton Daily News reported that Kronenberger is a former chamber of commerce president who was Waynesville's "Citizen of the Year" for 2006. His home phone wasn't accepting messages Thursday.