LOCKPORT – A Lockport man, who last week rejected two plea offers for seriously injuring his five-month-old son, changed his mind Wednesday and accepted one of them.
Christopher T. Fuller Jr., 23, of Dysinger Road, agreed to serve seven years in prison for reckless assault of a child. The sentence, to be imposed April 30 by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr., will include three years of post-release supervision.
Fuller’s other option was to plead guilty to attempted first-degree assault, which would have given Kloch a choice of sentences between 3½ and 15 years behind bars.
Deputy District Attorney Holly E. Sloma said the injuries to Aiden Fuller, now nearly seven months old, occurred between Jan. 20 and 22.
“It happened during a 36-hour period when [Fuller] was the sole caregiver for the child,” Sloma said.
The charge said the baby was either shaken, slammed or thrown against a hard surface, or there was a twisting motion that injured him. Details of exactly what happened remain unclear.
Sloma said the baby boy suffered bleeding in the brain and the eyes.
She said the baby is now in the care of a family member, but declined to comment on his long-term prognosis.
The plea came prior to the case being submitted to a grand jury. Fuller could have been indicted on a first-degree assault charge, which carries a 25-year maximum sentence with a five-year mandatory minimum if he had been convicted as charged.
Assistant Public Defender Michael H. White asked if an order of protection could be revised to let Fuller see the child, but Kloch declined, saying he didn’t think that was in anyone’s best interest.
Sloma said a final order of protection barring contact between Fuller and the baby for several years will be part of the sentencing.
email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
Christopher T. Fuller Jr., 23, of Dysinger Road, agreed to serve seven years in prison for reckless assault of a child. The sentence, to be imposed April 30 by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr., will include three years of post-release supervision.
Fuller’s other option was to plead guilty to attempted first-degree assault, which would have given Kloch a choice of sentences between 3½ and 15 years behind bars.
Deputy District Attorney Holly E. Sloma said the injuries to Aiden Fuller, now nearly seven months old, occurred between Jan. 20 and 22.
“It happened during a 36-hour period when [Fuller] was the sole caregiver for the child,” Sloma said.
The charge said the baby was either shaken, slammed or thrown against a hard surface, or there was a twisting motion that injured him. Details of exactly what happened remain unclear.
Sloma said the baby boy suffered bleeding in the brain and the eyes.
She said the baby is now in the care of a family member, but declined to comment on his long-term prognosis.
The plea came prior to the case being submitted to a grand jury. Fuller could have been indicted on a first-degree assault charge, which carries a 25-year maximum sentence with a five-year mandatory minimum if he had been convicted as charged.
Assistant Public Defender Michael H. White asked if an order of protection could be revised to let Fuller see the child, but Kloch declined, saying he didn’t think that was in anyone’s best interest.
Sloma said a final order of protection barring contact between Fuller and the baby for several years will be part of the sentencing.
email: tprohaska@buffnews.com