A Lubbock judge sentenced Matthew Liford, 19, to 10 years in prison who admitted in court to punching his 6-month old daughter two years ago.
As part of his plea the Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney’s Office dismissed a count of prohibited sexual conduct with a relative and a count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury.
Liford has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since his June, 6, 2017, arrest, after police responded to University Medical Center where his 6-month-old daughter was taken by his adopted mother, Ashley Liford, to the emergency room for serious injuries. Those injuries included a fractured skull and bleeding in her brain and eye, according to court documents. The girl’s face was bruised on both sides and her forehead had dark bruises.
A CPS worker saw a text Ashley sent Matthew asking about the child’s injuries, to which he responded, ”**** you, you ruined my life ... I hit her,” the affidavit states.
Liford admitted to hitting the infant.
Meanwhile, Ashley Liford was under indictment, accused of sexually abusing her adopted son, which resulted in the birth of the girl and an older child. Matthew Liford was 16 when the first child was born.
Prosecutors said Ashley Liford preyed on her adopted son and manipulated his longing for motherly affection.
Ashley Liford, 37, was sentenced in March to 25 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child and prohibited sexual conduct with a relative.
Court records show the parental rights of Ashley and Matthew Liford were terminated in May 2018.
Liford’s attorney, Harley Huff, after the hearing described the plea as the best result for his client, who was remorseful for his actions.
Prosecutors Laura Beth Fossett, said the plea offer took into consideration Matthew Liford’s history of abuse. She said he and his siblings were adopted because their biological mother was physically abusive.
She said she believed Liford did not intent to harm the girl, who recovered from her physical injuries.
“I think he (didn’t) have the maturity of how to deal with the situation that he was put in because he was a child when he had this child because of the actions of his adopted mother,” she said.
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