Lawrence man pleads no-contest to battery charge involving his daughter
A Douglas County judge has convicted a 33-year-old Lawrence man on an aggravated battery charge related to a December incident in which his daughter, who was 5 months old at the time, broke her arm.
Curtis J. Johnson entered a no-contest plea to the aggravated battery count during a Thursday morning hearing in front of District Judge Kay Huff. Prosecutors had accused Johnson of abusing the girl after she was taken to a doctor’s office with bone fractures and later hospitalized.
Johnson initially faced a charge of felony child abuse or an alternate count of aggravated battery before he pleaded Thursday to aggravated battery, which is also a felony.
Family members after Johnson’s December arrest had said the girl’s injuries were an accident, but prosecutors disagreed.
According to state sentencing guidelines, Johnson would face anywhere from 11 months to 34 months in prison, but he could qualify for probation unless he has two past convictions of person felonies.
Huff is scheduled to sentence Johnson Aug. 8.






