Whatcom County men get jail time for child abuse

MAPLE FALLS, Wash. -- Two Whatcom County men have been sentenced to jail for punishing a child for not doing his chores by forcing the boy to run up a steep mountain road, whipping him when he stopped, and shoving him into a cold stream.

The Bellingham Herald reports that the child's father, Robert Toy, and Lawrence "Eddie" Larsen were sentenced to six months in jail and one year in prison, respectively.

Toy pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and second-degree assault of a child. Larsen pleaded guilty to second-degree assault.

According to court documents, Larsen and Toy were going to talk to the boy after school in December 2014 about completing his homework. They boy's mother called the sheriff's office when he returned to his Maple Falls home late at night covered in welts and bruises.