The babysitter was sentenced to 45 years in prison after what happened to the 2-year-old girl… but it was what she told investigators that truly sparked public outrage
Katrina Evans (McLennan County Sheriff’s Office). (Image: McLennan County Sheriff’s Office)
A Texas babysitter has been convicted and sentenced after leaving a toddler in her care with a broken jaw and bruises “from her head to her toes”. The woman was also tried and sentenced for abuse carried out against her own children.
Katrina Lanett Evans, 34, was found guilty on one count of first-degree injury to a child and two counts of third-degree injury to a child, law enforcement officials confirmed.
By Wednesday, August 5, a jury had found Evans guilty in the 19th State District Court in McLennan County.
Evans was subsequently handed a total sentence of 45 years in prison. The first-degree charge carried a 38-year sentence, while the crimes committed against her own children resulted in an additional seven years behind bars.
The primary incident took place in 2023 and involved a 2-year-old girl whom Evans had been entrusted with babysitting, along with her own daughters, who were aged three and five at the time, according to the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office.
During the state’s opening statement, prosecutors outlined the explanation Evans allegedly provided to Child Protective Services following the incident, as reported from the courtroom. Evans reportedly stated: “When you are in a rage and just popping, you don’t know your own strength and how hard you are hitting a baby.”
The McLennan County Jail in Waco, Texas (Image: undefined)
The young child under Evans’ supervision sustained a fractured jaw, broken bones in her wrist and hand, along with bruises and scratches “from her head to her toes”, according to testimony from a nurse at Falls Community Hospital on Monday.
The emergency room nurse proceeded to detail further injuries sustained by the child, including white scars resembling cigarette burns and a ‘u-shaped’ bruise apparently inflicted by a belt buckle.
The 2-year-old received initial treatment at a local hospital before being transferred to a children’s hospital in Temple, Texas, for additional care.
Assistant District Attorneys Will His and Maddie Beach stated: “While the law authorizes adults to reasonably discipline children, this defendant repeatedly struck these kids all over their bodies, including their faces and heads, causing serious injuries to a 2-year-old.
“This behavior was simply child abuse, and nothing more.”
The additional charges stem from accusations that Evans struck her own children on their backs, legs, and ribs using switches, shoes, a metal towel rack, and clothes hangers, according to law enforcement.
“We are so grateful that all of the children have physically recovered, are away from this defendant, and are in loving households and thriving,” prosecutors said in a statement following the verdict.
SOURCE: DAILY EXPRESS
https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/213606/texas-babysitter-convicted-child-abuse-45-years-injuring-2-year-old
