Father sentenced to 30 months after torturing two-month-old baby

Shawn Michael Foltz was given a sentence of 30 months after pleading guilty to abusing his two-month-old daughter.

As reported by WDAY, the 42-year-old Moorhead, Minnesota resident rubbed hot sauce and cayenne pepper in his daughter's mouth, nose and eyes.

He also snapped a towel at her eyes and head and blocked her airway until she turned blue.

Belinda Bailer, Foltz's now-divorced wife, said she was horrified by what he had done to their child.

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"I felt like I did not know the man I was married to," she said of Foltz, who pleaded guilty to third-degree felony assault of a victim under the age of 4.

HOW TO EXPLAIN ABUSE TO A CHILD?

A judge handed down the sentence on August 8, 2018, in Clay County District Court. Foltz is required to spend at least 20 months in prison and is eligible to spend the remaining 10 months under supervised release.

With Foltz now in jail, Bailer said life will be a little harder since she now has to pay the bills. This is a better situation, though, than having Foltz around to abuse her child.

"But I'm here to talk about my little girl," Bailer said, adding that her daughter is now healthy.

Bailer said she doesn't know how she'll be able to explain to her daughter what her father did. She said she doesn't know how she'll be able to answer when her daughter asks why her father is not around their family.

GRIM STATISTICS

Almost five children die every day in the United States from child abuse, according to the American Society for the Positive Care of Children.

In 2016 alone, it was estimated that 1,750 children died from abuse and neglect.

This figure includes two-year-old Kylen Shangreaux, who died at the hands of his own mother in their home in Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota.