Ind. man gets 1-year sentence for boy's beating

WINCHESTER, Ind. (AP) — An eastern Indiana man has received a one-year sentence for beating a 3-year-old boy with a belt after the youngster allegedly emptied his wallet.

A Randolph Circuit Court judge gave 22-year-old Jerrod Eli Graves a 3-year sentence with two years suspended for September's beating that left the boy with welts and bruises.

Graves recently pleaded guilty to battery for using a belt to beat the boy. The youngster is the son a female acquaintance who was left in Graves' care in Winchester, about 20 miles east of Muncie. He'll serve his one-year sentence while participating in a work-release program.

The Star Press reports (http://tspne.ws/ZVxdLC ) Graves told officers the boy had emptied the contents of his wallet. Graves told officers after the beating, "I bet he won't do that again."

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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com