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LOWER PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania dad faces a long list of charges on allegations he beat and abused his children for years, according to KYW-TV.

The allegations came to light after the man's wife was hospitalized.

Joseph Myhre, a married father of two, is charged with unleashing a disturbing years-long series of beatings on his children that investigators say resembled torture.

His two children, arrest papers show, endured punching, kicking, choking, bruising and the use of an electric shock collar meant for a dog.

It's claimed Myhre forced his children to sleep in wooden boxes.

Holes were drilled so the children, now 13 and 11, could breathe.

Lower Providence Police Chief Stanley Turtle said, "These are absolutely heinous charges. In an area where we are, we're not accustomed to anything like this by any means. And when it does happen it shocks our conscience, along with everybody else involved."

Myhre's 13-year-old son allegedly told police, "Many times he would hit my head with a wooden stick. Another thing he would do is shock me with a dog collar. He would also bang my head against the wall or floor sometimes. It was so severe one time, I needed stitches."

Police say it's believed Myhre erupted on his children when they failed to properly do their chores.

Police said about his 11-year-old daughter, "Her father would strangle her and bang her head on the floor to the point that she would lose consciousness entering into a dream state."

Police say the abuse allegations finally came to light after Myhre's wife landed in the hospital with a broken skull.

Interviews with the children were part of that investigation.

Myhre now faces 12 counts of aggravated assault of a child less than 13 years old, along with charges tied to his wife's injuries.

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