FOX: A father allegedly shot his 9-year-old son in the buttocks with a BB gun, a revelation that came to light after the boy wrote a school essay about the incident.

The essay referred to the "painful afternoon my Dad shot me with a BB gun." The boy wrote that his mother could hear him scream from the road, and called the experience "the most painful thing I ever felt in my life."

The elementary-school teacher turned the essay over to Dane County investigators.

David J. Peschl, 36, was charged Friday with one felony count of child abuse. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 6 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Peschl admitted to investigators that he shot the boy, the criminal complaint said. Peschl said he was trying to watch TV in his home in the southern Wisconsin town of Oregon but the boy was blocking his view and didn't move out of the way when asked to do so.

Peschl said he happened to be holding a BB gun, and he aimed at his son's left rear pocket because he thought that would be more padded, the complaint said.

"The defendant stated that the round hit (the 9-year-old) in the buttocks and he jumped somewhat and moved away from the TV," the complaint said.

Peschl told The Associated Press on Saturday evening he did fire the gun, but it was only "horseplay" and "a dumb mistake."

Read more hot stories Moms Are Talking About.