Toddler hospitalized with broken arm, choking marks. Mom’s boyfriend sentenced.

A man is in prison for assaulting his girlfriend’s toddler, who showed up at a Tacoma hospital with a broken arm, suspected strangulation marks and other injuries.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Timothy Ashcraft gave 24-year-old Xavier De’Angelo Black a high-end sentence of one year, five months July 20.

Black pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, two counts of third-degree child assault and witness tampering as part of negotiations with prosecutors.

He made an Alford plea, which means he didn’t admit to committing the crimes, but pleaded guilty to take advantage of a plea deal, because he believed he’d likely be convicted.

Black’s attorney did not return a News Tribune call for comment.

According to charging papers:

The 19-month-old boy’s mother went to class Jan. 6 and left the child briefly with a babysitter and then her boyfriend.

When she got home she noticed the toddler was hurt.

Doctors at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital found the child’s arm was broken, and saw marks indicating he’d been choked. He also had a bruised liver and pancreas, and a punctured lung.

Black first said he didn’t know what happened, then told police the babysitter had dangled the boy by his arm while scolding the child.

His account kept evolving, with explanations such as that the child slipped in the bathtub, and that Black had wrapped the boy tightly in a blanket.

Black also said he had bony ribs, and had squeezed the toddler against himself.

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Toddler hospitalized with broken arm, choking marks. Mom’s boyfriend sentenced.."