GRAND HAVEN — A local man was sentenced to serve two weeks jail time and have no contact for three months with his child, whom he admitted to slapping on Thanksgiving Day 2022 in Hudsonville.

The man, a Zeeland resident, was arraigned last month on a charge of aggravated domestic violence and said he grew “overwhelmed with the crying” of the child and “slapped his face a couple times.”

The assault resulted in “red marks” on the boy’s face and an injury to one of the child’s eyes, which he was treated for at a Grand Rapids hospital.

Ottawa County 20th Circuit Court Judge Karen Miedema made a point to clarify Monday, during sentencing, that the child was an “infant” at the time of the assault.

“Because of what happened here and because of the age of the victim, the court is concerned,” Miedema said. “We don’t want this to happen again.”

The man has visited his child in public with the child’s mother, not supervised by Child Protective Services, the mother confirmed in court. He was sentenced to three months of no contact with the child, continued counseling and parenting classes through CPS, two weeks jail and three years probation.

The judge allowed the man to retain his employment and serve his jail time in three-day increments.

The child’s mother spoke highly of the child's father in court Monday.

“This thing does not define who he is as a person,” she said. “Every day he apologizes to me. He’s working hard to become the best father he can be. We want nothing more than to have him home.”

Miedema asked about the child.

“He’s doing great,” the mother said. “He has a ball when he gets to see his dad, nothing but giggles.”

The mother said she’s seen the man be more patient with his child.

“I don’t see any frustration during these visits,” she said, adding he'll walk around with the baby “when he gets fussy.”

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“He’s getting better at knowing what to do when (the baby) is not happy,” she said. “He definitely did not mean for this to happen.”

Miedema told the man that, at the end of the three months, he can work to get back to seeing his child.

“At the end of that three months, you may talk to the probation agent and the counseling records can be given to the probation agent,” she said. “It’s up to the probation agent whether or not you get supervised visits at that time.”

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland man sentenced to jail, no contact with infant child he slapped