Domic Damion Wakefield, 37, Minot, is charged in district court in Minot with Class B felony child abuse for allegedly spanking a 5-year-old boy with an open hand and leaving bruises and scratches all over the boy on Oct. 13.

Wakefield told police the boy had not been paying attention when he was working on his math homework and he spanked him three times with an open hand, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court. Wakefield told police he didn’t see any injuries on the boy afterwards but the boy fell down the stairs the next day and might have been hurt that way. The boy later told a teacher that Wakefield had hurt him.

Wakefield was scheduled to make an initial appearance on the charge on Tuesday.