The South Dakota Supreme Court has upheld a judge's finding that an Aberdeen man went too far when he repeatedly whipped his 7-year-old son with a stick.

Photos taken after the beating support the trial judge's ruling that the man used unreasonable punishment, the justices said in a unanimous ruling issued Thursday.

"That evidence establishes that the discipline father administered to child went far beyond a quick swat on a bare behind. Rather, the photos make clear that father repeatedly beat child's back, legs and arms with a switch until he left numerous scars and welts covering child's body," the Supreme Court said. "This could not be excused as simple restraint or correction of child."

The man is identified in court documents only by the initials O.J. to protect the identity of the boy, who was 7 at the time of the beating in May 2007. The father's lawyer argued that the punishment was legal because it was reasonable in the situation.

The Supreme Court's ruling upheld Circuit Judge Tony Portra's finding that the boy was abused or neglected, a finding that started a process of determining whether the child can be returned to his father.

The boy lived with his father after the mother's parental rights had been ended, according to court documents. In May 2007, the man introduced the boy to his mother, who lived only a few blocks away, but he told his son not to visit his mother without supervision.

The next day, the father found that the boy had gone to his mother's house without permission. He made the child take off his clothes and then beat him with stick or switch.

The man's girlfriend took the child from the house and called law officers, who took the boy into custody.

Portra held a hearing on Feb. 25 this year and ruled that the child was abused and neglected, but the father argued that hearing should have been postponed until after the conclusion of a criminal case that had been filed against him. He said any testimony he gave in the abuse and neglect case could be used against him the criminal case, which would violate his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

The Supreme Court said the judge was correct to proceed with the abuse and neglect hearing because the best interests of the child required a quick decision on that issue. The criminal case, involving a felony charge of abuse or cruelty to a child, could take a long time to resolve, the justices said.

The father had argued his punishment of the boy was legal under a state law that allows parents to use force in certain circumstances if "the force used is reasonable in manner and moderate in degree."

The high court noted that the trial judge found that the boy was whipped with a stick, which amounted to unreasonable punishment.

The trial judge did not make a mistake in finding that the punishment was unreasonable and that the boy was abused and neglected, the Supreme Court said.