ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Appeals Court has ordered a resentencing for a man imprisoned for beating an 11-year-old boy. The Sioux City Journal reports that the court ruled Wednesday that the trial judge considered an improper sentencing factor when giving 36-year-old Matthew Spaans four years in prison. Spaans and his wife, Nina Spaans, of Hawarden, pleaded guilty to four counts of child endangerment. She received a four-year suspended prison sentence and was placed on two years of probation.

Records say 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.