A Hiawatha, Kansas man will be sentenced in March after his conviction on charges stemming from the severe beating of a two-year-old girl because she refused to eat.

After a bench trial on Monday, Brown County District Judge John Weingart found Frank Lee Rodriguez guilty on charges of aggravated battery and felony abuse of a child.

Rodriguez, 25, initially denied hitting the youngster, but then told Hiawatha police the child was not eating, he got upset, and slammed her onto the floor and punched her in the head.

The child sustained severe head injuries in the beating on August 26, 2016. She was released from the hospital in December.

Judge Weingart revoked bond in the case. Rodriguez is being held in the Brown County Jail awaiting sentencing March 6.