Crime Beat
Man convicted of injuring child denied reduced sentence
Judge: 'He was a monster. An absolute monster'
STILLWATER, Okla. — A man who permanently injured a small child in 2007 was denied a reduced sentence at a judicial review hearing Thursday.
Eric Hillhouse, 29, of Carney, is serving 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Feb. 12, 2009, to injury to a minor child. He threw his then-girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter off a kitchen counter when she repeatedly asked him what time her mother would return home, an arrest warrant affidavit reads.
The girl, who is now 5, has permanent physical and mental disabilities, her father, Michael Stokes, said.
About 50 friends and family members sat on the defense's side of the courtroom to show their support for Hillhouse at the emotional hearing. His mother, Debbie Hillhouse, cried when she took the witness stand to ask Payne County District Judge Donald Worthington to reconsider her son's sentence.
Defense attorney Cheryl Ramsey argued Hillhouse should be released because of good behavior while behind bars, the promise of employment after prison and a solid family support network. She also said Hillhouse and the victim would benefit more from Hillhouse working and paying restitution than remaining jailed.
The court was impressed with Hillhouse's good behavior, Worthington said, but "it doesn't erase the fact that on Aug. 20, 2007, he was a monster. An absolute monster."
For more, see Friday's NewsPress.
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