Accused child abuser pleads

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man accused of striking his 3-year-old son because the child woke him up is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Shane Anthony Kraly pleaded guilty to reduced charge of injury to a child during a preliminary hearing earlier this month, court records indicate. Kraly is free on his own recognizance pending sentencing on February.

Kraly, 25, is accused of hitting the child in the head and face on Dec. 12 or the morning hours of Dec. 13. The child’s bruises were reported to the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office a couple of days later.

The 3-year-old and a 4-year-old sibling were removed from the home and placed in protective custody because their biological mother lives out of state, court records indicate.

The child told a sheriff’s deputy his father hit him because he was misbehaving, an arrest report said. Kraly admitted striking the child, but did not mean to cause injuries, the report added.

Kraly was originally charged with a felony, but the offense was reduced to a misdemeanor when he entered his plea on Dec. 23, court records show.