GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas appeals court has overturned the child-endangerment conviction of a man found guilty of locking his two toddlers in a room for 14 hours with their clothing and bedding soaked in their bodily waste.

The Kansas Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a new trial for Samuel Mich White of Garden City, citing an improper instruction to the jury from the judge.

The case began when a Garden City police officer and a probation officer conducted a surprise inspection at White’s home. Police say the children, ages 2 and 3, were inside a room chain-locked from the outside.

A jury acquitted White of child abuse, but found him guilty of two counts of child endangerment.

In 2013 White was convicted of sexual exploitation of a child, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.