An Orange County man was reportedly sentenced to a decade in prison after pleading no contest this afternoon to aggravated manslaughter of a child in the death of his girlfriend's 6-month-old daughter.
Lonnie Leonard Jr., 23, was reportedly charged last year in the Nov. 20, 2010, death of Malloree Tatum.
Leonard reportedly told investigators the baby fell off a bed. But doctors and a medical examiner said it was impossible the trauma the child suffered was caused by a fall from that height, and her injuries were more consistent with shaken-baby syndrome.
Leonard's plea bargain reportedly allowed a sentence up to 20 years in prison, but Circuit Judge Janet Thorpe sentenced him to 10.
Thorpe reportedly noted that the state agreed to 10 years as a minimum for the plea, and that family members who testified at a recent hearing — including Malloree's mother — testified that Leonard wouldn't have hurt the girl on purpose, and asked for leniency.
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