Mother sentenced to 8 years for abusing infant
Jul. 23—LIMA — A 23-year-old Lima woman convicted last month of negligence that resulted in serious physical injury to her infant daughter was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison.
Jurors in early June determined that Cheyenne Hooper was guilty of a second-degree felony count of endangering children and that she did abuse and allow serious physical harm to her seven-month-old daughter, Lyla Stratton. Hooper was found not guilty of a second-degree felony count of felonious assault that alleged she knowingly caused physical harm to her daughter.
Members of the infant's family lined the sidewalk outside the Allen County Justice Center prior to the hearing. Some carried signs that read "Justice for Lyla." The young victim herself was present but did not go inside the courtroom.
According to testimony during the trial, the girl suffered what multiple medical experts described as abusive head trauma on the morning of March 13, 2019, when she was in the care of her mother. The girl was taken to Mercy Health-St. Rita's Medical Center and then was immediately transferred via LifeFlight to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.
Dr. Catherine Huber, a child abuse pediatrician at Children's Hospital, testified the infant experienced bleeding on the brain, a brain shift, injuries to the neck area and retinal hemorrhages "that were not consistent with injuries from a simple fall."
Hooper maintained throughout her trial that the injuries suffered by her daughter were the result of a fall from a bed at the family's home on Cortlandt Avenue in Lima.
Prosecutors on Thursday asked Judge Terri Kohlrieser to impose the maximum possible prison sentence allowed by law. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Thines said Hooper's contention that Lyla Stratton suffered her life-threatening injuries when she fell 2 1/2 feet from a bed onto a carpeted floor "does not pass the smell test."
The infant's maternal grandmother, Amber Stratton, addressed the court and said Hooper "does not deserve to lay her hands or eyes on my granddaughter ever again."
Defense Attorney Mark Mitchell reminded the court that his client had been found guilty of "being reckless. There is no evidence, no proof, that she caused these injuries to her daughter."
Hooper echoed a similar contention in her brief statement to the court.
"The jury didn't find me guilty of intentionally harming my baby," the woman said. "I ask that you give me the opportunity to prove to you that I'm a trustworthy person."
Kohlrieser, however, was not in a forgiving frame of mind. She said her eight-year prison sentence was "largely based on the harm to this baby."
"People have got to get it through their heads that you cannot be reckless with a small child. They. Can. Die," the judge said, her voice rising with each word.
"You completely and utterly failed you daughter," Kohlrieser told Hooper.
The judge also addressed the issue of Hooper's future custodial rights.
"I cannot determine if she ever sees Lyla again," Kohlrieser said. "That's for another court to consider."
