Kalispell man sentenced for breaking toddler's leg

A Kalispell man is going to prison for breaking a toddler’s leg and causing bruises to the majority of the child’s body.

Terry Larry Chandler II, 23, was sentenced to the Montana State Prison for 10 years with eight years suspended for a felony count of assault on a minor. He was sentenced in Flathead District Court after pleading guilty to the crime in front of Robert B. Allison on March 8. According to the court documents, officers responded to Kalispell Regional Medical Center regarding suspicious injuries to a child who had recently been admitted on Feb. 5, 2017.

Stories about what happened to the child allegedly included that the child had fallen down some stairs and fallen off the couch. Eventually Chandler, reported to be in a relationship with the child’s mother, allegedly admitted to breaking the toddler’s leg as he was forcing the child to sit backward in a chair as some type of punishment. According to the police report, Chandler told police the 23-month-old went “stiff as a board” so he had to “pry” the child’s leg back at an angle, causing the child’s leg to fracture. Chandler was remanded into custody of the sheriff after his sentencing on Thursday. The court is recommending Chandler be placed in the prison’s intensive treatment facility.

Reporter Breeana Laughlin can be reached at 758-4441 or blaughlin@dailyinterlake.com.