A 20-year-old Columbia Falls woman has pleaded guilty to felony assault on a minor for injuries suffered by her 1-year-old daughter last December.
Samantha French initially denied injuring her daughter, but later told investigators she became angry when the child refused a bottle and she “grabbed her face really hard.” The girl suffered bruising on her face and hand, retinal hemorrhaging and bleeding on the brain.
She pleaded guilty in District Court on Thursday, but rejected a plea agreement that called for a recommended sentence of six months in jail. She is hoping for a deferred sentence when she is sentenced on Sept. 27.
French has given up her parental rights and the girl has been adopted.