STEUBENVILLE — A young mother who admitted hitting her newborn baby nine months ago pleaded guilty Monday in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court to two counts of child endangerment and another of domestic violence.

Shayla Oxley, 21, was sentenced to four years in prison by Judge Michelle Miller, with credit for time served, after admitting in court she’s the reason her then-month-old baby had to spend five days in UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

At the time, City Police said the infant had been beaten, “had bruising on his face” and a brain bleed when he arrived at the hospital.

Oxley, who was living at 967 Sherman Ave. at the time, was originally indicted on three counts of child endangerment, two of them felonies.

City Police previously reported doctors at Children’s Hospital concluded the baby had “extensive bruising on a large area of his face, extending to his hairline, at least two areas of acute cortical hemorrhaging on his head consistent with direct trauma to the head” and recommended the child not be returned to the home environment.

Assistant county Prosecutor Jeff Bruzzese said he’s glad Oxley took accountability for her actions.

“I’m happy that the child is in a safe environment now and has recovered well from the injuries,” he said. “Any time a child presents to the ER with head trauma and a brain bleed it’s obviously very concerning. The fact that the child is not going to have long-term issues and has made a full recovery is the best outcome of all.”

During Oxley’s preliminary hearing in February, police officers had testified Oxley initially told them she’d bumped the baby’s head on a wall by accident, but then doctors told them the extent of the child’s injuries and one of her friends showed them a video in which Oxley admitted hitting the infant and had told her she didn’t want him. The next time they interviewed Oxley she told them she’d put the baby on her bed “and he rolled off at some point, striking his head on the floor or sidetable or both,” but the doctors in Pittsburgh told him a month-old baby cannot roll over on its own. When she was interviewed a third time Oxley said she was holding the baby “when she accidentally struck his head,” only to tell them a few minutes later that “she just (wanted) to tell … the truth and (said) she physically struck the baby and asked for help.”

“Steubenville Police should be commended for solving a difficult case with a victim that was too young to identify its abuser,” Bruzzese said. “They worked hard, met with doctors, followed the evidence and brought a child abuser to justice.”