A Mountain Home woman who has admitted being responsible for injuries sustained by her 18-month-old daughter was sentenced to six years in prison during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.Twenty-one-year-old Samantha Sue Laverty faced charges of second-degree battery and endangering the welfare of a minor in the first-degree.
She pled guilty May 20 and sentencing by the court was continued until Thursday. Her punishment was left to the court, since lawyers for the state and defense had not reached agreement on her punishment.
The disagreement continued during Thursday’s court session. Fourteenth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge wanted the court to sentence Laverty to a 12-year prison sentence. Laverty’s defense attorney, Mark Cooper, asked the court for leniency for his client, saying she had lost a great deal already.
Cooper told the court the woman would likely lose her child to adoption, as well as face prison time stemming from the mistakes she had made. Cooper said, “Good people make bad choices.”
Ethredge said he had a hard time being very sympathetic with Laverty. He said it should never be forgotten the child was physically harmed and exposed to illegal drugs. Ethredge said, “We are dealing with this kind of thing more and more, and if a child is to be treated this way, then society must demand there be serious consequences for those who would commit such acts.”
A pre-sentencing report was to have been prepared and submitted to Circuit Judge Gordon Webb prior to Laverty’s sentencing, but Ethredge said she refused to meet with the person doing the report.
Circuit Judge Gordon Webb said it had been “very difficult to read the probable cause affidavit in this case” and to imagine what the child had gone through.
The judge said he “had a difficult time feeling sympathy for this defendant.” He said his feelings were not only based on what had happened to the infant, but on the fact Laverty had refused to participate in the preparation of the pre-sentencing report.
The investigation into the child’s injuries was launched Sept. 11 last year when the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Baxter Regional Medical Center regarding suspicious injuries to a young female baby.
The baby was transferred to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock where she was treated for a broken femur. The medical staff at Children’s also expressed “great concern” for multiple bruises on the little girl’s face.
In addition to the injuries, the child tested positive for high levels of amphetamines, methamphetamine and cannabinoids in her system. Staff at Children’s reported the amount of methamphetamine present was 150 times more than required to show positive in the body.
Laverty told investigators a number of conflicting stories of how the injuries might have occurred. According to the probable cause affidavit, the baby’s injuries were not consistent with Laverty’s various and changing stories of how her daughter was hurt.
The Arkansas Department of Human Services participated in the investigation and has custody of the child.
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