Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man convicted of physically abusing his infant twin children is being given a chance to avoid prison.

An Olmsted County judge today gave 30-year-old Nicholas Bendik a stayed prison sentence and ordered him to serve five years on probation. Bendik, who earlier pleaded guilty to a pair of felony counts of malicious punishment of a child, will also spend 60 days in the county jail.

He originally faced six felony charges for causing injuries that included at least three fractured ribs to the twin boy and girl when they were only several months old. The abuse was discovered when the mother of the children brought her four-month-old son to St. Mary’s hospital last December after she heard a popping noise when she lifted the infant up for a feeding. X-rays showed the baby had rib fractures and signs of possible earlier injuries. Mayo Clinic doctors also found bruises on his back and buttocks. The same bruising was found on his twin sister when she was checked.

Bendik later admitted to the abuse, and told investigators he “hurt his children out of frustration and the lack of sleep.”

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