ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa man has again been sentenced to four years in prison for beating an 11-year-old boy. Sioux County District Court records say 37-year-old Matthew Spaans was re-sentenced Monday. The Iowa Appeals Court in December ordered a resentencing after ruling that the trial judge considered an improper factor a year ago when sentencing Spaans the first time.

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’ probation. Court records say Matthew Spaans beat his stepson with his hands, a 56-inch sword and another item. The documents say the boy was told to make up stories about his bruises or his next beating would be worse.