GILBERTVILLE - A Mason City man has been arrested for allegedly giving his teenage son steroids.

Black Hawk County sheriff's deputies arrested Todd Anthony Gerleman, 44, Friday morning at the jail for distributing a controlled substance to a minor.

Investigators became interested in Gerleman in November 2008 after they were called to an assault that involved his 14-year-old son, according to records.

The boy had assaulted his mother at her Gilbertville home Nov. 19, and officers who responded found a syringe and 105 pills in the boy's bedroom, court records state.

The teen told authorities his father gave him the pills during an earlier weekend visitation, records state.

The father "admitted to bringing the needle and pills from his residence … and supplying them to 'motivate' his son about sports," according to court records.

A test by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation determined the pills were methandrostenolone, which is an anabolic steroid, according to court records.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.