Cary man pleads guilty to injuring infant son, gets 4-year prison sentence
A Cary man pleaded guilty Tuesday to injuring his infant son and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Tristan Johnson, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery of a child younger than 13 causing bodily harm, a Class 3 felony, prosecutors and documents in McHenry County court said.
In exchange for the guilty plea, other charges were dismissed, including an additional and more serious Class X count of aggravated battery of a child under the age of 13. Had he been convicted on the Class X charge, he could have faced up to 30 years in prison.
He is required to serve half his prison term and will receive credit for 578 days in the county jail as well as any additional days until he is transported to the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, Judge Tiffany Davis said. When released from prison, he will serve six months of mandatory supervised release.
In court Tuesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Ashley Romito read from a document that said on or about the evening of June 15, 2023, Johnson was the primary caretaker of the month-old infant when a “slight bruise” was found on his arm.
On June 22, 2023, the child was taken to the hospital for treatment after he started having seizures. There, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services became involved and Cary police were called, police said at the time of Johnson’s arrest.
His attorney, Brian Stevens, said Tuesday after court that the child has recovered from his injuries and is in foster care.
Johnson, arrested before the SAFE-T Act and held on $500,000 bond since, was initially accused of fracturing the baby’s arm and causing a subdural hematoma, which was believed to have resulted in the seizures, the criminal complaint and indictment said.
Of the sentence, Stevens said the state and court “took into consideration Tristan accepting responsibility for his role in this matter.” The attorney said that since Johnson’s arrest, he has “worked diligently in completing parenting classes, including the comprehensive faith-based Malachi Dads program.”