CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Cheyenne man sentenced to prison in child abuse case

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle - 4/14/2018

April 14--CHEYENNE -- A Laramie County judge sentenced a local man to prison Friday in connection with the abuse of a young girl in 2015.

Joshua Walter will spend at least three years in prison for aggravated child abuse. If parole officers decide to keep him in prison longer, he could face a maximum of 10 years in state facilities.

Walter was arrested in March 2017 for an incident that happened nearly two years before.

Court documents state that the girl's mother heard a "thump" from a bedroom where Walter was with the young girl. The mother found the child lying on the bed with a bloody lip and a bump on her head.

The girl was taken to Children's Hospital Colorado, where she received treatment and was flagged as a potential abuse victim, according to court documents.

At the sentencing hearing, Walter's attorney, Mark Hardee, argued for the lowest sentence the court would allow, saying Walter behaved well while out on bond.

"He has led an exemplary life for almost the last three years," Hardee said. "That is indicative of a genuine, heartfelt desire to change."

But prosecutor Ben Sherman painted a very different picture of a violent addict who had trouble accepting responsibility for the child abuse or previous crimes related to substance abuse and violence.

Sherman cited the serious nature of the child abuse offense, including the resulting extensive physical damage to a child who was otherwise healthy.

"She will feel the consequences of those actions for the rest of her life," Sherman said.

But Hardee said Walter took responsibility for his actions and felt deeply remorseful for what he had done.

"He truly and honestly does not remember (what happened) because he was under the influence," Hardee said. "The regret that he feels, it's palpable every time I meet with him."

More than a dozen members of Walter's family and friends submitted letters to the judge on his behalf. A handful of his supporters were in the courtroom Friday for the sentencing hearing.

"There's not a day that goes by where I don't think about it," Walter told the judge.

"I've turned my life around. It was horrible, but I apologize."

Judge Thomas Campbell also reminded Walter of the serious nature of the crime, noting that a jury was deliberating in the next room in the case of a local woman accused of abusing and killing her child (Sabrina Sawicki was acquitted of those offenses later Friday afternoon).

But because of the offense and Walter's criminal past, Campbell did not find him to be a candidate for probation, sentencing the man to at least three years in prison.

___

(c)2018 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.)

Visit Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.) at www.wyomingnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.