A Weld District Court judge this morning sentenced a Fort Lupton mother to 10 years in prison for the drowning death of her 13-month old son while she “entertained herself” on Facebook.
Shannon Johnson, 34, cried as she listened to Judge Thomas Quammen sentence her, stating he didn’t believe she did it on purpose or that she was a bad person. But even so, he said, that didn’t mean leaving her son unattended in a nearly full bathtub wasn’t criminal.
“You left this little boy in a bathtub so you could entertain yourself on the computer by playing games,” Quammen said. “And you left that 13-month-old human being, little Joseph, incredibly for those reasons.”
Johnson pleaded guilty last month to child abuse, negligently causing the death of her son, Joseph. The charge carried a sentencing range of four to 12 years, but it also made her eligible for probation or community corrections. She was rejected from both because officials believed it would depreciate the seriousness of her crime.
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