SPENCER, Ind. (AP) - A judge told police he heard a commotion coming from his central Indiana courtroom and rushed inside to find a man beating up a woman.

Police say 31-year-old Mark Winders and the woman were at the Owen County Courthouse for a child custody hearing and were alone in the courtroom when the attack happened Thursday.

A police report says Winders kicked the woman several times and then stomped on her face after she fell to the floor before Judge Frank Nardi approached them.

Winders was being held in the Owen County Jail on domestic battery charges and a drug possession charge after guards reported finding he had a small amount of marijuana.

Police say the woman suffered bruises and a forehead cut. She was treated at a hospital and released.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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