Man sentenced to prison after investigation into child’s injuries

A man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to seriously injuring a dependent child in Bartholomew County.

According to the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s office, the investigation began in October of 2023 when medical personnel at Nexus Park noticed concerning injuries to a small boy. Columbus Police and a family case manager from the Department of Child Services determined that the two-year-old boy was covered in external injuries in various stages of healing. The child protection team at IU Health Riley determined that the boy had also suffered two broken ribs which were healing.

After the investigation, police arrested Hanna McBride and Jose Manuel Villeda Gomez on felony charges of Neglect of a Dependent with Serious Bodily Injury.

In February, Villeda Gomez pleaded guilty and last week Judge James Worton sentenced him to 16 years, with 10 years to be executed at the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Prosecutors say McBride pled guilty last summer and was sentenced to 12 years with eight of those to be executed in the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Prosecutors praised the alert medical personnel who noticed the boy’s injuries and alerted law enforcement.