ANGOLA, MI (WTVB) – A Fort Wayne woman was ordered to serve 12 years in prison on Friday in Steuben County Circuit Court after being arrested in October 2021 following the beating of a three-year-old child.
26-year-old Dakota McHenry entered into a plea agreement with Steuben County prosecutors on October 31, 2022 which was one week before she was scheduled to go on trial.
She was convicted on a felony count of Domestic Battery with Serious Bodily Injury to a Person Under 14.
Two other chargers were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. McHenry was given credit for seven days already served in jail.
The Steuben County Sheriff’s Office was notified after the injured child was taken to Cameron Hospital.
According to a Sheriff’s Office statement, the injuries were inconsistent with the information being provided by the father, 31-year-old Derek Pierce of Kendallville, Indiana and McHenry who was Pierce’s girlfriend at the time.
It was determined after an investigation that the injuries happened in Steuben County, at the HI-VUE campground near Lake Gage.
On line court records indicate Pierce was given a nine year prison sentence with three years suspended and was placed on three year probation during a January 9 sentencing hearing for Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Serious Injury. Another charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
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