ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa man and wife have been sentenced for the beatings of an 11-year-old boy. Sioux County District Court records show 36-year-old Matthew Spaans was sentenced Monday to four years in prison, and 34-year-old Nina Spaans was given two years of probation and a suspended prison sentence of four years. Both had pleaded guilty to four counts of child endangerment. Prosecutors dropped several other counts in exchange for their pleas. The two live in Hawarden.

Records say that at least three times since September, Matthew Spaans beat his stepson with his hands, a 56-inch sword and another item, severely bruising the boy. The documents say the boy was told to make up stories about his bruises or his next beating would be worse.