JEFFERSON TWP — State police Monday arrested a township man accused of punching and choking his 7-year-old stepson.

Rickey J. Powell, 40, was apparently angry with the boy’s performance at school when he allegedly attacked the child last week in the family’s home in Saxony Estates, police said.

The child suffered injuries including a bump on the head and bruises on his arms, ribs and neck.

Afterward, Powell asked the boy to tell his mother that he got the injuries at the playground, according to court documents.

District Judge Sue Haggerty on Monday arraigned Powell on charges of simple assault, child endangerment, corruption of minors and harassment. He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail following arraignment.

Police said a Butler County Alliance for Children staff member on Friday interviewed the child, who described the alleged assault that began on Dec. 7 after his stepfather picked him up after school.

Powell, who is unemployed, is the boy’s caretaker after school when the child’s mother, who is the suspect’s wife, is at work.

During his interview, the alleged victim accused his stepfather of punching him in the stomach and hand while the two were in the vehicle as they drove home.

The boy recounted that his stepfather was “upset about his (daily school report),” according to a police affidavit.

At the house, Powell continued the abuse, documents said, when he threw the boy onto a bed. When tossed in the air, the child hit his forehead on the ceiling.

The suspect continued to attack the boy, police said, grabbing his leg and bending it back. Powell also allegedly chocked the boy.

He is accused of asking his stepson to lie about the injuries. The boy told authorities that Powell encouraged him to tell his mother that he bumped his head on the monkey bars at the playground.

Powell’s preliminary hearing is Dec. 23 at Haggerty’s office in Saxonburg.