A Gosberton man who admitted smacking a young child on the buttocks with excessive force was sentenced to 36 weeks imprisonment.
Scott Reynolds, 38, pleaded guilty to hitting the child three or four times with more force than he intended.
Lincoln Crown Court heard Reynolds, of Salem Street, Gosberton, admitted a charge of child cruelty following the incident which occurred on August 16.
Stuart Lody, prosecuting, said Reynolds was interviewed by the police and admitted becoming upset because he believed the child, who can not be identified, had drowned two puppies.
Mr Lody told the court Reynolds accepted smacking the child three times but initially disputed causing the severity of bruising caused to the child’s buttocks when he was shown photographs of the injuries.
The court heard Reynolds was a trained boxer and sometimes did not appreciate his own strength.
Mr Lody said the prosecution would not be pursuing a restraining order in the case as Reynolds was not a carer for the child.
Anna Soubry, mitigating, said Reynolds was shocked by the photographs of the child’s injuries and never intended to cause such severity.
“He is very sorry,” Miss Soubry told the court.
Miss Soubry added that Reynolds had spent a number of weeks in custody.
Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told Reynolds the matter passed the custodial threshold.
