Ricky SmithRicky Dean Smith was sentenced today by Bradley County Criminal Court Judge Carroll Ross to 15 years in prison after pleading "no contest" to a charge of aggravated child abuse.
Smith was arrested by detectives on Jan. 4, 2013, the day a five-week-old child was admitted to T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital in Chattanooga with skull fractures and bleeding on the brain, a release from the Bradley County Sheriff's Department said.
The release said the investigation showed Smith to be the person responsible for the child's injuries and Smith, now 23 years old, was indicted by the Bradley County Grand Jury.
He has been in the county jail under a judge's order of no bond.
The child had been released from the hospital after treatment.