A 37-year-old man has been sentenced to six months' imprisonment for using a cattle prod on three of his children.
The father, who the ABC cannot name for legal reasons, appeared in the District Court in Mount Gambier on Tuesday.
He previously pleaded guilty to 12 counts of aggravated assault related to using the cattle prod between September and October 2019.
The court heard the accused threatened his five children with the device.
He activated the cattle prod on three of his sons, who were aged seven, six and four at the time.
The court heard the accused also used the device on the ends of his three sons' beds.
The offending came to light after two of his sons told their schoolteachers, who alerted the police.
'Over the top'
In sentencing, Judge Gordon Barrett said the accused went "over the top in disciplining the children".
A psychiatric report from March this year found the accused had borderline personality disorder but was "unlikely to repeat this type of behaviour".
The report recommended therapy to address his conduct.
The court heard the father felt "shame and remorse" for his actions.
Judge Barrett acknowledged his early guilty plea, which meant he was eligible for a 40 per cent discount on his sentence.
The judge said the accused had expressed remorse and was aware of the consequences of his behaviour in losing the children.
The six-month sentence has been backdated to when the accused was taken into custody in May.
He will be released from prison next month.
