From Mirror staff reports

A Hopewell man was sentenced to four to eight years in a state correctional facility during Bedford County Court on Friday for “seriously injuring” his toddler foster son in a “violent shaking” incident, Attorney General Dave Sunday wrote in a release.

Anthony Plotts, 40, previously pleaded no contest to two felony counts of aggravated assault of a child, single felony counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, as well as single misdemeanor counts of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person and a summary harassment charge in regards to the July 2022 incident. His prison sentence will be followed by seven years’ probation, the release states.

The charges were filed against Plotts in December 2022 following an investigation that began when a Bedford County Children and Youth caseworker contacted state police regarding a report from UPMC Bedford about a 1-year-old boy diagnosed with a brain bleed, court documents state.

When the boy was examined at the hospital, a doctor labeled the incident as non-accidental trauma. A CT scan revealed blood around the boy’s brain and he was sent to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for treatment, court documents state.

According to the Pittsburgh doctors, the blood around the boy’s brain was fresh and his injuries were consistent with physical abuse, specifically shaking. The doctors said the force required to cause the boy’s injuries was substantial, so they had to be perpetrated by an adult.

“This case involves some of the most heinous conduct imaginable — abuse of a purely innocent, defenseless and vulnerable young child,” Sunday said. “Despite the defendant’s attempts to avoid accountability by misleading investigators, the truth was uncovered, and he is now held accountable.”

In a separate case, Plotts was sentenced to four years of concurrent probation regarding two counts each of corruption of minors and furnishing alcohol to minors for providing alcohol to several juveniles at his home in November 2022, the release states.