BROOKLYN — A Brownsville woman was sentenced to 22 years in prison Thursday for fatally beating her 4-year-old nephew after he complained about his spelling homework, prosecutors said.
Christen Dale, 24, was babysitting Ethan Ali inside their home on Rockaway Parkway on Feb. 25, 2015, when she started to beat him with a belt after he refused to finishing a spelling assignment.
Ethan suffered blunt impact trauma, which caused internal bleeding, leading to multiple organ failure.
“It is incomprehensible that anyone could hurt a child, much less beat an innocent and helpless four-year-old to death,” acting Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. “Ethan Ali was robbed of his young life and now this defendant will appropriately spend many years of her life in prison for this brutal act.”
Dale, who lived in the home with her sister and nephew, was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter by a jury in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
