Mid-Missouri man sentenced after abusing toddler

A Mid-Missouri man was sentenced on Wednesday after hitting a 2-year-old and smearing feces on his face.

Chad Elliott, 30, of Russellville, will spend four years in prison for two felony counts of child abuse. Court documents claim he was accused of beating the toddler with a belt and metal spoon, leaving cuts, a black eye and knots on top of his head.

A woman, Lexi Miller, was also arrested by Cole County deputies last June. The department of family services alerted them about the boy. Miller was sentenced in March to five years probation for endangering the welfare of the child.