"Toddler John Doe" - 3 yo - Sioux Falls SD

A Sioux Falls man who put his girlfriend's 3-year-old son in the hospital with life-threatening injuries in March pleaded guilty Wednesday to child abuse.The early morning beating that left the child limp and unresponsive could put 24-year-old Thomas William Ohrtman in prison for 20 years because of his criminal history.Ohrtman pleaded guilty to child abuse and admitted to being a habitual criminal. He was convicted of third-degree burglary seven years ago in Palo Alto County, Iowa.
The child woke up and began to fuss in the early morning hours of March 5, Deputy State's Attorney Colleen Moran said, and Ohrtman went into the child's room to see what was wrong.The child fussed and asked for his mother, she said, and Ohrtman backhanded the child."(His mother) told detectives that when she tried to wake him at 8 a.m., he was lifeless and had a fat lip," Moran said.The mother brought the child to the emergency room at Avera McKennan that morning. Doctors noted a subdural hematoma, a ruptured eyeball and numerous bruises on the child. They later discovered three skull fractures and wounds to his liver and spleen.Judge Robin Houwman asked Ohrtman whether he agreed with Moran's version of events before accepting his guilty plea.The child's family wept as he said "yes." Several family members were in the courtroom, but they declined to comment on the child's current condition.Ohrtman will remain in custody at the Minnehaha County Jail until his sentencing date.

The Sioux Falls man who gave a 3-year-old boy permanent brain damage
during an assault was given a 25-year prison sentence Tuesday.Thomas
William Ohrtman, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of abuse or cruelty to
a minor in September for beating his girlfriend's son in March. Two
counts of aggravated assault were dropped as a result of the plea deal.According
to a statement read in court Tuesday by his grandmother, Cheryl Baker,
the boy, now 4, still cannot walk, talk, sit up or roll over. He needs
24/7 care, she said, and eats through a tube.
Judge Robin Houwman gave Ohrtman the maximum sentence for the crime. Should
he be released on parole, he'll not be allowed contact with anyone
younger than 18.Houwman also ordered Ohrtman to notify the Department of Social Services immediately if he fathers any children.