A 48-year-old childcare provider could be placed on probation or receive up to two years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to child abuse.
Toni Fierro will be sentenced April 18 by Pima County Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini.
Fierro was taking care of a 3-year-old boy on July 2 and when he was picked up from her home the next day he had bruises on his biceps, buttocks, face and abrasions on his collarbone, according to court documents.
She told detectives the boy fell out of the car and she grabbed him by the arm and he landed on his buttocks, the documents said. She also said the toddler fell on rocks and ran into a door.
Fierro initially said she only saw bruising on the boy's arm, but later said she noticed bruising on his buttocks, the documents said.
A doctor said the bruises were caused by blunt-force trauma and were not accidental, the documents said.
Fierro was a childcare provider licensed by the Arizona Department of Economic Security for 15 years and ran a daycare from her home near East 29th Street and South Wilmot Road.
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