WAYNESVILLE, Ohio – A landlord accused of whipping an adult tenant with a belt on his bare buttocks for falling behind on his rent won’t face charges in southwest Ohio if he stays away from the tenant.

Police in the southwest Ohio village of Waynesville had charged Ron Kronenberger with assault after the Jan. 22 encounter in his office, the Dayton Daily News reported (http://bit.ly/10lGkt5). Kronenberger told the 29-year-old tenant that if he was going to act like a child, he would treat him like one and then allegedly hit the tenant four times with a belt, leaving small marks, the police report said.

The tenant had said he submitted to the whipping because “he was scared and just wanted to get it over with,” according to the police report.

A Warren County magistrate on Thursday said that he would dismiss the charge in six months if Kronenberger has no contact with the tenant and stays out of trouble, but Kronenberger would face conviction if he violates the order.

The dispute was over $2,800 in overdue rent, according to the police report.

A woman answering the phone in the office of Kronenberger’s attorney, Lawrence Greger, said Friday that they would have no comment on the matter.