ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) - A central Florida couple has been charged with beating their newly adopted children with a wooden spoon, a belt and a paddle, forcing them to do push-ups and jumping jacks and denying them food as punishment.

Dwayne and Pamela Hardy were arrested Wednesday on two counts each of cruelty toward a child involving torture or punishment.

They were released from the Seminole County Jail after each posted a $7,100 bond.

The 6-year-old girl and her 9-year-old brother have been removed from Hardy's home, only six months after being adopted by the couple. The state is considering terminating the Hardy's parental rights.

No one answered the phone Thursday at the Hardy home.