A Fridley man was sentenced to four months in jail this week for forcing the 12-year-old daughter of his girlfriend to run outside in a diaper, her head freshly shaven, as punishment for a failing grade.

The man's sentence also took into account his guilty plea to misdemeanor domestic assault for an Oct. 5, 2010, offense where he hit the girl with a belt, leaving bruises on her legs. He was placed on probation for two years, ordered to have no contact with the child, and cooperate with the child protection case plan.

Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo said the cruel nature of this girl's mistreatment required the criminal justice system to react strongly.

"These actions went way beyond any sense of appropriate child discipline," he said.

Last month, the girl's mother was sentenced to three months for malicious punishment. According to court documents, on May 7, the girl said her mother ordered her to wear the diaper for getting an F on her report card. She said this was the third time she'd been put on "diaper duty." Her boyfriend was ordered to have no contact with the girl. The girl's mother must comply with a court-ordered child plan because the girl was removed from her home after the incident. The court will determine how much contact the mother can have with her daughter.

DAVID CHANEN