Pennsylvania Man Gets 20 to 40 Years in Toddler's Death
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A northeastern Pennsylvania man convicted of killing his girlfriend's 1-year-old daughter 2 1/2 years ago has been sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison.
Jurors in Luzerne County convicted 37-year-old Lamont Cherry of Wilkes-Barre of third-degree murder in October in the May 2009 death of Zalayia McCloe.
Judge Tina Polachek Gartley imposed the maximum sentence Wednesday after hearing tearful testimony from the girl's relatives.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The judge said the penalty was "just not enough but it's all that I can do."
Prosecutors said Cherry shook and beat the toddler while she was in his care. He denied causing the injuries and said they were the result of a fall.
Cherry did not speak during the sentencing, and as he was led from the courthouse said only that he "got robbed."