Man pleads guilty in 8-year-old son’s beating death

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A Louisiana man has pleaded guilty in the 2012 beating death of his 8-year-old son.

The Advocate reports 52-year-old Michael Anthony Robertson pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter and cruelty to a juvenile in the death of Xzayvion Riley. The Baton Rouge man was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Robertson will be given credit for the 6 1/2 years he has been in custody since Riley’s death.

Coroner’s officials determined Riley died of overwhelming infection caused by a ruptured bowel from blunt force trauma to his abdomen. Prosecutors claimed the death was the result of an escalating pattern of physical abuse at the hands of Robertson.

Xzayvion’s mother is 38-year-old Lavaughn Riley. She’s charged with first-degree murder and doesn’t have a trial date.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com