By Lori Kersey

The Tribune

A Proctorville man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday for assaulting 2-year-old son.

William Estep, 22, of 102 N. Jones St., pleaded guilty in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court.

Judge Charles Cooper sentenced Estep to a total of 10 years in prison for felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Assistant Prosecutor Brigham Anderson said a third charge, endangering children, was dismissed because, by law, it and the felonious assault sentence must have been served concurrently because they stemmed from the same incident.

The man will serve eight years for felonious assault and two years for tampering with evidence.

Until Friday, Estep’s trial was scheduled for April 25. At his last pretrial hearing Wednesday in Cooper’s courtroom, Estep had rejected the plea bargain.

Estep’s conviction stems from an incident in which he threw the child against a wall where the boy hit his head. He then carried the boy down to the bottom of the stairs and told paramedics that the boy had fallen, which lead to the tampering with evidence charge.

The boy suffered severe brain damage and recently was undergoing rehabilitation, Anderson said Wednesday.

The assistant prosecutor said Estep deserves the sentence he received and that he was prepared for trial.

“This is one of the worst cases of child abuse I’ve ever seen,” Anderson said.

Estep did not make a comment in court before he was sentenced, his defense attorney Mike Gleichauf, said. Gleichauf, too, declined to comment.