Sonja Hernandez, the mother of murdered 4-year-old Giovanni Meijas, was sentenced to prison Thursday for second-degree child abuse.
Kent County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Leiber sentenced her to between 4¾ and 10 years in prison on two counts of second-degree child abuse. The child abuse convictions are unrelated to the boy's death.
Hernandez, 30, was also sentenced to a lesser term for perjury.
The woman's son was killed by her boyfriend at the time, Elis Nelson Ortiz-Nieves. He was convicted of felony murder in the child's June, 2017 death and is serving mandatory life in prison.
In June 2017, Ortiz-Nieves was watching seven children, including Giovanni Meijas, when he assaulted the child at a house trailer in Gaines Township while Hernandez was away. The children were removed from the home and an investigation was launched by Children’s Protective Services.
A medical examiner determined the boy died from abdominal injuries.
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