Man sentenced to 18 months in toddler assault

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) _ A Sumner man accused of partially paralyzing his girlfriend's 1-year-old daughter was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The News Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2cZuMZq ) that Eli Everett Tomal was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to child assault in July.

According to charging papers, Tomal's girlfriend called 911 in 2014 when the baby wouldn't wake up.

She later told investigators she'd left Tomal alone with the child for 15 minutes. Tomal told her the baby fell backward on a flashlight as she crawled on a bed. Doctors said violent shaking likely caused the injuries.

The baby's grandmother told the court that the baby suffered paralysis on her right side and lost some of her vision.

Prosecutors plan to request more than $189,000 in restitution, largely because of medical bills.