Lehigh Acres man sentenced to 7 years in prison for child abuse

Miguel Dario Rocha, 27, was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by nine years of probation after pleading guilty to Aggravated Child Abuse.

In June 2018, in Lehigh Acres, the defendant picked up a 3-year-old boy by the neck, raised him above his own head and slammed him on the tile floor out of anger. Several family members witnessed the crime. The child suffered injuries but recovered.

Rocha has further conditions of his sentence. He can no longer have any contact with his biological children nor any unsupervised contact with any minor children. Rocha must also undergo anger management classes, substance abuse counseling, random drug and alcohol screenings and have a mental health evaluation.

Assistant State Attorneys Michael Colombo Jr. and Natalie Heiderscheit handled the case.