The girl was wearing a shirt and diaper when she was discovered outside with the family’s 3-month-old puppy during a winter storm, according to police

NEED TO KNOW

• A Pennsylvania dad was arrested in May after his 2-year-old daughter was found outside in January during a winter storm 
• The father told police he was tired after drinking eight or nine beers the night before, per an affidavit 
• He pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child on Tuesday, Sept. 22 and was sentenced to two years of probation

A Pennsylvania man whose 2-year-old daughter was discovered outside during a winter storm with frostbitten “purple and black” feet has learned his fate.

On Tuesday, Sept. 22, Joshua Kitner, 29, of Newville, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child, online court records show.

As part of his plea deal, prosecutors dropped two counts of aggravated assault involving a child, the Franklin County Free Press Publisher reported. He was sentenced to two years of probation.

Kitner was arrested on May 6 and initially charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, according to online court records. 

PEOPLE previously reported, citing an affidavit, that at about  5:30 p.m. on Jan. 25, officers with the Pennsylvania State Police in Carlisle were called to a home in North Newton Township to assist EMS after a 2-year-old girl was found outside suffering from hypothermia and “severe frostbite.”

Kitner was “solely caring” for his daughter when he fell asleep for an unknown period of time, during which the child suffered extensive injuries, the affidavit states.

He told police he had gotten “buzzed” late the night before after drinking eight or nine beers, which left him exhausted the next day.

He also told police, per the affidavit, that he woke up shortly after 5 p.m. and found his daughter outside with the 3-month-old family dog.

The 2-year-old was “seated on her butt and dozing off,” he told police, according to the affidavit, which further states he said she was cold and her feet and toes were “frozen and purple, almost black in color.”

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According to the affidavit, Kitner told officers he believed the child let the family dog outside while he was asleep and got locked out of the house.

The girl was outside for an unknown period of time during “a severe winter day and snowstorm,” wearing only a shirt and diaper, authorities said.

She had fourth-degree frostbite in both feet, which were blue and purple when EMS arrived. And she had third-degree frostbite on the fingers of her right hand, the affidavit states.

The child was rushed to a local hospital and later transferred to the burn unit at Lehigh Valley Medical Center, where she was kept for a week. 

After discharge, she received follow-up care at the burn center for over a month.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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