Young woman sentenced for hurting baby daughter

A 20-year-old Columbia Falls woman was sentenced Thursday in Flathead District Court to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections.

Samantha French previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assault on a minor for grabbing her 1-year-old daughter’s face hard enough to cause facial bruising, retinal hemorrhaging and bleeding on the brain.

French initially told police the bruising was caused by a dog’s tail before she broke down crying and admitting she had injured the child after the child refused to take a bottle. It was the child’s second visit to the hospital.

French has since given up her parental rights and the child has been adopted.

In addition to prison time, French was ordered to pay a $500 fine and a $400 public defender fee. After serving the first six months of her sentence, she will be evaluated for community placement.

Nickolas Fox, French’s boyfriend, has also been charged with assault on a minor related to the child’s first hospital visit in October 2011. According to testimony by French during a prior hearing, during that visit the child was found to have bruising on the side of her face and barbiturates in her system.

Fox has pleaded not guilty. His next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 31 and a trial is set for Dec. 3.