CONROE, Texas — Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson avoided jail time on Tuesday in a plea agreement reached with prosecutors to resolve his child abuse case.

Peterson was indicted in September on a felony charge of injury to a child for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son earlier this year in suburban Houston. The All-Pro running back says he never intended to harm his son and was disciplining him in the same way he had been as a child.

The boy suffered cuts, marks and bruising to his thighs, back and on one of his testicles, according to court records.

The case revived a debate about corporal punishment, which is on the decline in the U.S. but still widely practiced in homes and schools.

Under the agreement approved by Montgomery County state District Judge Kelly Case and announced during a scheduled court hearing, Peterson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault.

If convicted of felony child abuse, he could have faced up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.