A Rochester woman accused of leaving bruises on a 4-year-old after disciplining him was sentenced Monday in Olmsted County District Court to a year of probation.
Tina Ilene Fisher, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor domestic assault; in exchange, one count of malicious punishment of a child, a gross misdemeanor, was dismissed.
She was immediately sentenced to complete a domestic abuse evaluation and fined $200, in addition to the probation.
The investigation began in November, when a man told a social worker that Fisher had slapped the boy across the face, leaving a mark, and slapped his buttocks, leaving a bruise. The child also had a black eye, but the man wasn't sure how it had happened.
A witness told authorities Fisher had first spanked the boy two times in a "correcting" way, not very hard. She became angry with the victim after he threw a toy that hit the witness, "and pretty much took all of her anger out on" the boy, court documents say.
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The witness didn't see Fisher slap the alleged victim, but could reportedly see the hand mark on his face, and heard Fisher spank the boy's bottom.
According to the complaint, the boy told investigators he "bonked" his eye on the wall when Fisher flipped him over and spanked his buttocks.
Fisher allegedly admitted to striking the child and "went too far" by hitting him across the face, but didn't know where the black eye came from.
