Karen Marie Bartley

A Winona Lake woman who harmed her fiancé’s toddler was sentenced today to 6 years in prison.

Karen Marie Bartley, 36, was arrested in January on a class B felony charge of neglect of a dependent/endangering life and causing serious bodily injury. In Kosciusko County Superior Court 1 this morning, Bartley’s plea of a class C charge of neglect of a dependent was accepted by Judge Duane Huffer.

On Dec. 18, 2012, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputies initiated an investigation after being notified by Kosciusko Community Hospital officials that a 2-year-old girl was brought to the emergency room by her father and Bartley. The toddler was experiencing instability and had been vomiting. She was transferred to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne where testing determined the girl had suffered a skull fracture.

Bartley originally said that the toddler, while in her care, threw a “temper tantrum” and had repeatedly struck the back of her head against the floor. Medical officials advised detectives that the injuries were not conducive to Bartley’s claims and she later admitted she had been playing with the child and became “overly aggressive.” The details of how the child was injured were not revealed.

Huffer sentenced Bartley to 6 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections for a term of 6 years. She received jail time credit of 195 days served.

As further terms of her sentence, Bartley is prohibited from having any direct or indirect contact with children less than 10 years old. Following sentencing, Bartley was remanded to the custody of KCSD.