UPDATE: LeRoy man charged with malicious punishment of child pleads guilty

(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE: Jeffrey Michael Phillips, 40, was sentenced to 90 days in county jail, followed by 5 years of supervised probation on Aug. 3, 2023.

Phillips was arrested in November of 2022 and accused of four charges of child abuse and three counts each of domestic assault and malicious punishment of a child.

He later pleaded guilty to 3rd-degree assault.

Mower County Judge Natalie Martinez set the conditions of Phillips’ supervised release, which include completing a Domestic Abuse Program, avoiding direct or indirect contact with the victim unless approved by a probation agent, and, avoiding contact with juveniles overall unless approved.

—–PREVIOUS STORY—–

(ABC 6 News) – A LeRoy man accused of child abuse pleaded guilty to 3rd-degree assault and malicious punishment of a child pleaded guilty late last week.

Jeffrey Michael Phillips, 40, was arrested in November an accused of four charges of child abuse, as well as three counts each of domestic assault and malicious punishment of a child.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of felony 3rd-degree assault-substantial bodily harm and the gross misdemeanor punishment.

According to court documents, Phillips’ plea agreement specifies that he will receive no more than 5 years of prison time for the above crimes, and the state will not seek an aggravated sentence based on the other seven charges.

Phillips’ sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 3, 2023.

(ABC 6 News) – A LeRoy man appeared in Mower County Court on four felony charges of child abuse and three gross misdemeanor charges of domestic assault and malicious punishment of a child.

Jeffrey Michael Phillips, 40, was arrested in mid-November on suspicion of child abuse after staff at an elementary school contacted law enforcement about a child with worrying injuries Nov. 8.

According to the Mower County Sheriff’s Office, multiple sources revealed that Phillips had a history of beating the child.

According to court documents, the child was examined by Mayo Clinic’s Child and Family Advocacy staff, and results of the investigation are pending. The child maintained that the Nov. 8 injuries were from a week prior, despite showing no evidence of injury the previous day at school.

Phillips denied harming the victim or any other individual. He is currently being held at the Mower County Jail.
According to court records, the MCSO applied for and was granted a search warrant for Phillips’ residence, where law enforcement observed significant damage to the plaster walls, “consistent with someone punching the wall, someone having their head thrown into the wall, or having a person being slammed into the wall.”

Phillips’ pretrial is scheduled for March 31, 2023, with a jury trial April 10, 2023.