PROVO — For three years, Cameron Clint O'Bannon has maintained that the 1-year-old boy he was baby-sitting got hurt by falling down the stairs.
But in October, a jury disagreed, and Tuesday morning, O'Bannon was sentenced to one year in jail for a second-degree felony of child abuse.
Prosecutor Doug Finch asked for prison but recognized that due to the overcrowding issues, O'Bannon, 30, might actually serve more time in jail.
"When he says he didn't do anything wrong, I don't think a year in jail is appropriate," Finch said.
At trial, Finch presented expert witnesses who testified that injuries to the child, Levi, most likely came from a violent shaking, which caused tears in both optical nerves, leaving him blind except for some peripheral vision.
A second-degree felony caries the potential of one to 15 years in prison, but without a lengthy criminal record and only one charge, O'Bannon could be released in as few as six months, 4th District Judge Samuel McVey pointed out.
"The injury to the child was unusually extreme, resulting in lifetime injury," McVey said. "(But) I don't know that he would stay (in prison) all that long."
McVey sentenced O'Bannon to a year in jail and imposed numerous conditions during his 36-month probation, including paying $480 in restitution for glasses for Levi, now 4; taking a substance-abuse assessment, completing a GED; and a domestic violence tracking program and having no unsupervised contact with children under age 18.
O'Bannon's attorney Shawn Howell said they are appealing the jury's verdict. Shealso told the judge she's concerned about implications that her client is failing to take responsibility.
"He takes responsibility to the extent that he was the adult present when the injury occurred," Howell said.
However, Howell said O'Bannon has consistently told the same story about the child's injuries.
He said he had been watching Levi for his girlfriend and had gone to get clothes for his own young daughter when he heard thuds and found the child at the bottom of the stairs. He then called 911.
She told the court her client shouldn't be punished for requesting his right to a jury trial and questioned the value of O'Bannon all of a sudden changing his story at sentencing.
"For three years he's (maintained his innocence), and then at the last moment for him to say, 'OK, I did it.' I don't know what the benefit would be," Howell said.
However, McVey said he was still concerned about the lack of remorse from O'Bannon and also required a letter of apology as part of the probation requirements.
"I hope there would be a strong message that this type of behavior to children is intolerable," McVey said.
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