Preschool Faces Discipline Inquiry : Day care: A parent of a 4-year-old says the church school used techniques intended to drive out demons. Officials say they prayed over her son.

Sheriff’s deputies Wednesday were investigating a complaint from a Canyon Country woman who said the director of a church-affiliated preschool disciplined her 4-year-old son by following the directions of a book on driving out demons.

Officials of the school, the Children’s Country Preschool, which is affiliated with the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, denied it. They said that when the child had a tantrum last week they merely prayed and sang over him. That is not unusual at a Christian institution, they said.

Sheriff’s Lt. Don Bear said the mother, Cathy Uthe, complained that her son Colin was abused at the school, which is in Canyon Country. The child was not injured, and deputies did not begin their child-abuse investigation until Wednesday.

Uthe said through her attorney Wednesday that she believes the school’s director, Karen Soper, followed procedures from a book called “Pigs in the Parlor: A Practical Guide to Deliverance” when disciplining the boy.

The book describes itself as a handbook offering guidance on how demons enter a person, how to determine if “deliverance” from them is needed and how to get rid of them.

Uthe’s attorney, Barry Goldberg, said Uthe and her husband, Carrol, “believe that at least once and maybe twice their child was restrained and various things were said to him and over him in an attempt to deliver evil demons from his body. The Uthe family, and we suspect most parents, would not expect these acts to take place at a reputable preschool.”

Soper acknowledged buying and giving Cathy Uthe the book in December after Colin had behaved badly. She said she does not have a copy herself and did not follow any of its instructions on Jan. 3 when she and a school secretary had to restrain the boy.

“He had thrown a plastic shovel and hit a child,” Soper said. “He was having a terrible fit of anger. He was kicking, biting, pinching and using abusive language. This was a 4-year-old boy using the F-word. It took two adults to restrain him.”

Soper said she and secretary Marty Blankenburg, who is a member of the school’s board, prayed over the boy and sang a hymn before he calmed down.

“We didn’t follow any procedure from the book,” Soper said. “We didn’t perform any ceremony. I didn’t even use the word ‘demon.’ I did say, ‘Spirit of anger, come out.’ That’s all.”

Blankenburg confirmed Soper’s version of what happened. She added that the incident was discussed at a Tuesday meeting of the school’s board of directors and that Soper, also a board member, received the support of the nine-member board.

“Everyone is standing behind her,” Blankenburg said. “This is very much blown out of proportion. Basically we have a little boy with behavioral problems, and we prayed over him. There was no exorcism.”

Goldberg called Soper’s description of the boy’s behavior “preposterous.” He said the Uthes had not decided whether to take legal action against the school. They have taken the boy out of the school, the lawyer said.