Updated January 31, 2019

A man is jailed in north Alabama for beating his girlfriend’s child with a wooden board that left severe bruising on the 2-year-old’s back, buttocks and hand, authorities said.

Chad Lynn Powers, a 32-year-old from Ardmore, is held in the Limestone County jail with bail set at $500,000, according to media sources.  He’s charged with aggravated child abuse, a Class A felony that’s punishable by up to life in prison.

Deputies were called Monday to investigate a child abuse report involving a 2-year-old boy. Sheriff’s spokesman Stephen Young said the toddler was suffering severe bruising on his back, buttocks and hand. The toddler was treated at Athens-Limestone Hospital.

Investigators arrested Powers on Tuesday after determining he beat the child with a wooden board, Young said the board isn’t a typical paddle or other item that might be used for corporal punishment.