A woman who left her infant son in a bathtub while she ran to the drugstore pleaded guilty to child abuse Thursday under an agreement with prosecutors, court officials said.
Krystleann Martinez, 20, was charged with felony child abuse, a Class 3 felony, after the April 18 incident at her home, in the 1200 block of West 46th Avenue in Denver, authorities said.
With the Class 3 felony, she was charged with knowingly and recklessly causing injury to her then-9-month- old son by leaving him in the bathtub filled with water and going to the store.
If she had been convicted of that charge, she would have faced up to 12 years in prison, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney’s office.
Under the plea agreement, Martinez pleaded guilty to a Class 4 felony that has a maximum prison term of six years, but she is likely to get some jail time and probation in the case, Kimbrough said.
She is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 11.
The boy was barely alive when paramedics arrived at the family home in April, and Martinez told police she just went downstairs for four seconds to get a towel, according to court documents.
But prosecutors filed charges after neighbors told police they saw Martinez go to the store and then spend time with an older child outside in front of the house.
Police also said they found a towel behind the bathroom door.
The condition of the child was not available Thursday.
Staff writer Arthur Kane can be reached at 303-954-1244 or akane@denverpost.com.
