An Oklahoma City police officer who was fired following allegations that he abused his 7-month-old foster daughter has been sentenced in the case.

Jeremiah Thompson, 33, of Edmond, was accused of shaking the baby girl, who presented to a local hospital in November 2014 with injuries including brain bleeding and retinal hemorrhaging--injuries consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome. Thompson denied abusing the child, but said that he accidentally dropped her from a height of about 3 or 4 feet onto padded carpeting.

Medical professionals testified that the baby's injuries were not consistent with a fall, which would have induced head trauma, but were rather consistent with being shaken. Thompson's attorney, however, told the court that the fall exacerbated an underlying condition, causing the hemorrhaging in the brain and eyes.

After the allegations of child abuse came to light, Thompson was put on paid administrative leave from the Oklahoma City Police Department. In January 2015, two months after the baby sustained her injuries, Thompson was charged with child abuse. 

He was fired from the OCPD in July, and in September, he entered an Alford plea in the case. An Alford plea is a type of plea in which the defendant does not admit guilt, but rather acknowledges that there is sufficient evidence to convict if the case were to go to trial. His plea paperwork stated, " The state has evidence sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Jeremiah Thompson, used excessive and unreasonable force upon a 7-month-old child.”

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors asked for a suspended sentence for Thompson. A suspended sentence allows the defendant to serve probation instead of a prison term, but leaves him or her with a criminal conviction. Thompson's defense attorney instead asked for a deferred sentence, which would also allow probation instead of prison, but would also allow the charge to be dismissed if the defendant successfully completed probation.

Oklahoma County District Judge Ray C. Elliott chose a five-year suspended sentence for the former police officer. He will serve 5 years of probation for injuring the child, and he will be a convicted felon as a result.

Under Oklahoma law, the maximum penalty for felony child abuse is life in prison.

Image credit: Rachelle