GREENFIELD — A Greenfield woman was sentenced on Tuesday to three to five years in state prison for abusing her baby in 2021 and causing injuries that included bite marks, as well as jaw and skull fractures.

Alexis C. McClure, 25, pleaded guilty in Franklin County Superior Court to seven counts of assault and battery causing bodily injury to a child under 14, and was taken away in handcuffs. She will serve simultaneous three- to five-year terms at MCI-Framingham for each of the first three counts, followed by five years of probation for the final four counts. She earned 34 days of credit for time spent incarcerated before posting bail following her arrest on Nov. 8, 2021.

Judge David Hodge first heard from defense attorney Emily Shallcross and Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Jimenez, who prosecuted the case for the state alongside colleague Lori Odierna, in a conference to discuss the terms of a potential plea before a brief adjournment that was followed by McClure’s change of plea from innocent to guilty. Hodge said he credits McClure for taking responsibility for her actions but that the facts laid out by prosecutors were egregious.

“I cannot get past the facts of this case,” he said during the conference.

Jimenez explained McClure did not know she was pregnant when she went to the emergency room with abdominal pain in June 2020 and learned she was in labor. She reportedly decided to have the child adopted and left the hospital without the baby. However, Jimenez said during the conference, McClure eventually changed her mind and regained custody after trying to do so for 13 months. But McClure’s relative and the baby’s father reported noticing severe health concerns in the child three months later.

One of the relatives filed an emergency child abuse report with the state Department of Children and Families (DCF), and investigators conducted a welfare check. Jimenez reported they observed several visible injuries and the baby was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield to be evaluated. Jimenez said that Dr. Stephen Boos, a child abuse pediatrician, reported the child suffered from a skull fracture with intracranial bleeding, at least eight adult-size bite marks, a hematoma resulting in black eyes and bruising, a fractured lower jaw, a missing tooth and fractures to each arm. The baby also had difficulty breathing due to a nasal fracture.

Jimenez said McClure gave differing explanations to family members, police officers and DCF investigators for the injuries. She said the prosecution learned McClure had wanted to enter into a relationship with the baby’s father and she grew to resent the child when this did not happen.

“It wasn’t just one incident,” Jimenez said. “It wasn’t just one lapse of judgment.”

Jimenez told Hodge the child will likely need nose and jaw surgery as a teenager.

Shallcross, of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, explained the listed injuries suggest the abuse lasted one month, not three as the prosecutors alleged. She also said her client suffered trauma of her own during childhood. Shallcross mentioned the baby, while having sustained undeniably serious injuries, was reported as having full range of motion of her head and neck when examined by Boos. Shallcross also said McClure took the child to a dentist a few days before DCF investigators visited.

Shallcross told Hodge her client was raised by an unsupportive grandmother and developed a substance abuse issue at 13. Advocating for her client, Shallcross said McClure overcame adversity to graduate from high school and earn an associate’s degree in human services from Mount Wachusett Community College. The defense attorney also said the initial welfare check was not for the child but for McClure, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

McClure surrendered custody of the child in January, according to Shallcross. She asked Hodge to sentence McClure to two to three years in state prison, followed by three years of probation. After Jimenez mentioned the defendant violated her pretrial conditions of release multiple times by testing positive for cocaine, Shallcross said her client was sober for a year before resorting to illicit drugs for comfort after being informed about possible prison time. Jimenez mentioned the baby tested positive for cocaine at birth.

Jimenez objected to Shallcross’ request for her client to serve time at the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction in Greenfield, and Hodge denied the request.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

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