Mother sentenced in child abuse case By Madeleine O'Neill / madeleine.oneill@timesnews.com

WEB STORY

The mother of a toddler who suffered serious injuries in her care received prison time at her sentencing Wednesday in Erie County Court.

Anjaleesa Ciano, 28, was sentenced to four to 23 months in the Erie County Prison, followed by five years of probation. The sentence, from Judge John Garhart, was in the standard range of state guidelines and included the opportunity for work release.

Ciano, of Erie, pleaded no contest in May to a third-degree felony count of child endangerment and a first-degree misdemeanor count of simple assault in a plea bargain with the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

Garhart said that although Ciano had acknowledged culpability through her plea, the details of how the child was injured remained uncertain. Ciano was the only person charged in the case.

"There's not a lot of evidence that points to you as opposed to anyone else," Garhart told Ciano. "This is a difficult case."

Ciano's son was 3 years old when he was admitted to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC on June 30, 2014, with injuries that led a doctor to believe he had been the victim of "violent child abuse, " according to the affidavit of probable cause.

He suffered extensive bruising on his back and buttocks as well as head trauma that left him with a "severe brain injury, " according to the affidavit.

Erie police charged Ciano caused the injuries to the boy at a residence in the 1200 block of East 38th Street.

Ciano said in court Wednesday that the Erie County Office of Children and Youth has scheduled a hearing to involuntarily terminate her parental rights to the child for September. She said she is able to visit with her older child, who does not live with her.

"I'm just trying to get my life back together," she said.

Madeleine O'Neill can be reached at 870-1728 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNoneill.