La Crosse man pleads no contest to injuring baby girl
LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — A La Crosse man has pleaded no contest to charges that he broke his 3-month-old daughter’s leg and once squeezed her hard enough to crack her rib.
Thirty-year-old Gavin O. Attoe pleaded no contest Tuesday to two counts of felony child abuse. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 32 years, 6 months in prison.
Prosecutors say the girl suffered multiple fractures to her arms and legs. Attoe told investigators that in an attempt to stop her from crying he had once crushed her chest until he felt a rib pop.
A La Crosse Tribune report says Attoe told the judge, “I did indeed hurt” the girl. He blamed his lymphoma medication for causing him to “snap.”
He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 18.
