Casper Man Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse Charge
A man accused of physically abusing a child who was 11 months old at the time entered a guilty plea Thursday afternoon in district court.
Anthony James Eugene Mock pleaded guilty to a single count of felony child abuse before District Judge Catherine Wilking. As part of a plea agreement between Mock and the Natrona County District Attorney's Office, two other charges of felony child abuse were dismissed.
Per that agreement, Assistant District Attorney Kevin Taheri will recommend that Mock serve no more than three to five years in prison, with that sentence running concurrent to any sentence which may come out of a separate criminal matter involving Mock.
In the other case, Mock pleaded guilty to a single felony count of obtaining goods by false pretenses. District Judge Thomas Sullins, per a plea deal, sentenced Mock to a suspended prison term of 18-36 months and placed Mock on three years of supervised probation.
Mock, having been arrested on the child abuse charges last summer, faced the possibility that his probation would be revoked in the case before Sullins.
Mock's 2017 arrest stemmed from a July report by the Wyoming Department of Family Services to the Mills Police Department regarding allegations of physical child abuse.
The child, who was 11 months old at the time of the alleged abuse, had "extensive bruising on his body and scratches," according to court documents.
During Thursday's hearing, Mock admitted to having spanked the child too hard. Judge Wilking clarified that the child had been wearing a diaper at the time, and Mock hit the child hard enough to cause bruising through the diaper.
"I never intended to leave marks on him," Mock told the court. He agreed that his behavior was reckless.
Mock remains free on bond pending sentencing.