Man convicted of smashing skull of girlfriend’s baby sentenced to 25 years
TAMPA, Fla. – A Florida man convicted of fracturing the skull of his girlfriend’s 3-month-old daughter, leaving the infant with permanent disabilities, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison.
A judge also sentenced Demarcus Johnson to five years of probation after his prison sentence is served, WTSP reported.
Prosecutors said Demarcus Johnson forcefully shook the child while her mother was working in July 2018, WFLA reported.
A child abuse expert testified during the trial that the girl suffered a “high-force” blow to her head and “instantaneously lost the ability to move, eat, or even cry,” the TV station reported.
According to WTSP, when the child’s mother returned home from work and found her baby unresponsive, Johnson reportedly insisted that nothing unusual happened while she was away from the home.
Dr. Sally Smith, the medical director for Pinellas County’s Child Protection Team, testified during the trial that doctors determined that the child suffered internal bleeding and multiple skull fractures, noting that her skull was broken into fragments like “puzzle pieces,” WFLA reported.
“(Ty’Ahni’s) going to be confined to a wheelchair. She’s not going be able to walk, talk, or eat on her own, basically. Seizures. She’s basically confined to the chair,” the child’s mother, Tyreonna Williams, told the TV station after the sentencing.
Johnson was found guilty on Jan. 28 of aggravated child abuse with great bodily harm, an offense that carried a minimum state-recommended sentence of 6.5 years in prison and a maximum 30-year sentence, WTSP reported.
