Lima woman who beat infant granted release from prison

LIMA — Eight months after a Lima woman was sentenced to two years in prison for beating an infant in her care, Judge Jeffrey Reed granted her judicial release Thursday.

Alexandria Hogan, who will be 23 in four days, was eligible for judicial release after serving six months of a two-year prison term. She pleaded guilty to a felonious assault charge after Children Services found red marks and bruising on a 1-year-old female’s body in December 2022. A physician from Dayton Children’s Hospital who evaluated the infant said “serious harm” was dealt and posed a “real risk of brain injury.”

Hogan will be on probation for three years. Reed said she must get a job; receive a mental health assessment; stay away from drugs and alcohol; and have no contact with the victim or her biological mother.

Before Reed made his decision, Hogan said she was struggling with postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder when the incident occurred. In prison, she took courses that taught her how to manage stress and her emotions. If she was released from prison, she said she would stay with her grandmother and go to therapy. She also wants to go to The Ohio State University-Lima to study social work.

“Being in prison has shown me exactly where I never want to be again,” Hogan wrote in a statement she read to Reed.

When Reed asked her what she would want to hear if the roles were reversed and it was her child who was abused, Hogan said, “People can learn. People can grow from the mistakes they’ve made.”

Hogan added, “I want to do better, and not just for myself.”

A Crime Victim Services advocate read a statement from the infant’s mother that said Hogan should stay in prison because she showed no mercy when beating her child, so the court shouldn’t either. The statement said Hogan had no remorse until she was caught. The mother confirmed the victim now has minor hearing loss in her left ear.

Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.