In September of 2015, then-20-year-old Marc Steven Hartnett was arraigned on several very serious child abuse charges in Osceola County’s 77th District Court. He was accused of abusing and torturing his girlfriend’s 19-month-old child. Now, almost a year later, he has accepted a plea bargain and pled guilty to a child abuse charge.
According to the Michigan State Police, it all began when troopers from Reed City were called to a home in Evart, where a child was said to be unresponsive. The call came in from Hartnett’s girlfriend, who said she came home to discover that her baby son had sustained severe injuries, and was unresponsive. She had been at the ER with her older son, who was suffering from a severe nosebleed.
The little boy was airlifted to De Vos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, where he underwent several surgeries for life-threatening injuries. He was listed as being in critical condition for some time after the surgery, but is apparently doing well now. Hartnett, who had been babysitting the little boy at the time and was the only one present, was arrested. He was taken to jail, where he was then held without bond, which the Judge denied due to the severity of the alleged crimes.
He was later charged with one count of First Degree Child Abuse, one count of Torture, and one count of Assault with Intent to Murder. Under Michigan law, these are very serious felonies, as all three charges are punishable by up to life in prison, should the accused be convicted by a jury, or choose to plead guilty.
However, almost a full year after the charges were first read in court, Hartnett has accepted a plea bargain. He recently appeared in the Osceola County Circuit Court and pled guilty to single counts of First Degree Child Abuse and Assault with Intent to do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder.
Under Michigan law, Assault with Intent to do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Hartnett is scheduled to be sentenced next month on October 7th. He is looking at anywhere between 13 to 40 years in prison.
Child abuse charges are very serious, and usually result in multiple charges and harsh sentences. The only way to ensure that you are not falsely or wrongly accused of child abuse, is to ensure that the attorney defending you is highly experienced in handling this type of case. So if you are up against allegations of abuse, call us immediately at 800-576-6035. We are here to help.