Minneapolis / St. Paul News Blog

​ The man accused of beating a 10-year-old with his fists and an extension cord and burning him with an iron before the boy hid in the oven was released from jail Tuesday night after posting bail. The man is also accused of turning on the oven once the boy was inside.

William Hurley, of Minneapolis, says he is not the child's father, but had been living with the boy's mother and was considered a "father figure" to him. Hurley spoke to Fox 9 outside the jail about the incident.

Check out the interview below.

From Fox 9:

Hurley denies turning on the oven, as the boy told police, saying the mother turned it on. He said the child was acting out and he was in the process of disciplining him. Prosecutors say this case goes beyond discipline, and is abuse.

Hurley admits to whipping the 10-year-old with a video game cord and says he never touched the oven controls to turn the heat on. For that, he's blaming the child's mother.

"He thought I was gonna continue to whoop him, and he jumped in the oven and she turned it on, said Hurley. I was standing by the deep freezer that's like 20 feet away from it. And I said, 'Are you serious' Why are you in the oven?' and that's when the police came."