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IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls woman accused of severely beating a child that resulted in brain injuries pleaded guilty to an amended charge Wednesday as part of a plea agreement.
Lorena Ocampo-Garcia, 25, was charged with felony aggravated battery and felony use of a deadly weapon in the alleged beating of a 3-year-old child in February 2016, reported EastIdahoNews.com.
Ocampo-Garcia is accused of using a 14-inch long hard plastic toy to strike the child she was babysitting. EMT’s were called to her home where they said the boy was unresponsive, vomiting and bleeding from his nose and mouth.
The boy was rushed to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where doctors said he had an internal brain injury. Court records show he was incapable of moving the right side of his body as a result of his injuries.
As part of a written plea agreement, Ocampo-Garcia pleaded guilty to a felony injury to a child charge with an enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury on the child. She could face up to 10 years in prison for the injury to a child charge and an additional 20 years for the enhancement.
Ocampo-Garcia originally told investigators the child threw himself into a pile of 2×4 boards, but later admitted to detectives that she grabbed the child by his hair and pushed him to the ground. At one point, documents show Ocampo-Garcia picked up a toy and hit him “no more than eight times” in the head.
Ocampo-Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced in Bonneville County on Sept. 11.
