A Rootstown woman is behind bars after she admitted to beating her children last year.

The Record-Courier reports Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman sentenced 27-year-old Holly Bryan to four years in prison.  In June, Holly pleaded guilty to charges of child endangerment and domestic violence for abusing her children between July and August of last year.

The investigation into this case started after a tipster called authorities last August saying that Holly and her husband, 30-year-old Michael Bryan, had been abusing their children.

Prosecutors tell the newspaper that when child services visited the couple's house in the 4800 block of Gower Road, they found that the children had sustained bruises and bite marks.  The children said their parents beat them with curtain rods, bit them and slammed their heads into walls.

Last December, a grand jury indicted the parents on charges of child endangerment and domestic violence.  Court records say Michael pleaded guilty to domestic violence in June and will be sentenced later this month.

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