Joshua Kitner, 29, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to two years’ probation. His 2-year-old daughter had been found outdoors with severe frostbite during a January snowstorm.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped two counts of aggravated assault involving a child. An affidavit says Kitner was the sole caregiver when he fell asleep for an unknown period. He told police he had drunk eight or nine beers the previous night and believed his daughter let the family puppy outside and then got locked out.
The affidavit states the girl was wearing a shirt and diaper and had fourth-degree frostbite on both feet and third-degree frostbite on fingers of her right hand. She spent a week in Lehigh Valley Medical Center’s burn unit and received follow-up care at a burn center for more than a month.
