South-central Idaho man arrested for spanking

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) - Police in south-central Idaho arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly hitting his son so hard that it left bruises.

Police say David Anthony Loya was arraigned Monday on a misdemeanor of injury to a child.

The Times-News reports that Loya's wife called the police Sunday after she found bruises on their 3-year-old son on his lower back and upper buttocks.

She says Loya repeatedly hit the child because he soiled his pants.

Loya later told officials that he spanks his son because of religious beliefs, but that he might have gone too far.

He has been appointed a public defender and a pretrial conference is scheduled at the end of September.

Spanking is legal in Idaho, along with corporal punishment in public schools.

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