DES MOINES – A North Iowa woman banned from pregnancy due to convictions of child endangerment after violently shaking her baby at least three times has had her sentence vacated, meaning she could get pregnant again.
Defendant Stephanie Flatland – age 25 who has called several town in North Iowa home – appealed her convictions for two counts of child endangerment resulting in bodily injury.
Fatland was charged with three counts of child endangerment resulting in serious injury, class “C” felonies. The State alleged Fatland had shaken her five-month-old baby on three occasions, causing injury to the child. Fatland entered into a plea agreement in which she pled guilty to two counts of child endangerment resulting in bodily injury, class “D” felonies. The State agreed to dismiss the third charge of child endangerment and to stand silent at sentencing.
The district court accepted Fatland’s guilty pleas. The court sentenced her to a term of imprisonment not to exceed five years on each count, to be served consecutively. The court then suspended the sentences and placed Fatland on probation for a period of five years with the conditions, “Shall have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 5 years,” and “Shall not become pregnant while on probation.”
Fatland filed a Motion to Reconsider a Condition of Probation, stating the court had improperly infringed upon her fundamental right to bear children by the condition on her probation prohibiting her from becoming pregnant. The court denied the motion, finding “temporarily prohibiting the defendant from becoming pregnant is directly related to the defendant’s criminal conduct and her rehabilitative needs.” Fatland then appealed.
The Iowa Court of Appeals determine the district court abused its discretion by imposing conditions prohibiting Fatland from having unsupervised contact with children under the age of five and becoming pregnant while on probation. Her sentences and now vacated and are remanded to the district court for resentencing.
According to court documents which show Flatland was stripped of her custody of the injured boy, after the child’s birth, he was in the intensive care unit until June 2014. After being in his mother’s care one month, the child was rushed to the emergency room where it was found the child had a bulging fontanelle and several retinal hemorrhages, which were believed to have been the result of physical trauma. There were also concerns that the child had gained very little weight while in the mother’s care. Court documents say Fatland initially gave no plausible explanation for the child’s head injuries, but she later admitted she had shook the child after “her anger and frustration rose to a level that she was unable to control her rage.” The child was ultimately placed in foster care.
5 thoughts on “Appeal clears way for North Iowa woman to pro-create after previous sentence of no pregnancies”
I love how people judge who do not have all the facts. People do change and grow and also how about her mom did she help her when asked no what about the boyfriend at the time was he physical beating Stephanie and did she take the blame for him? Like I said know one has all the facts. All I know is when you deal with any child protection services in any state you will never know the truth.
System FAIL AGAIN what f*ckin judge would agree to that?Ya have more kids,no job,just lookin for welfare to cover her lazy ass.What is wrong with people these days.Somethings don’t deserve 2nd chance when a child’s life would be in danger.Kids were never meant to be a source of income (ie welfare).Help them if they are working and trying their best and still falling short.But there has to be a limit to it or you get THIS type of thing happen more then not.She doesn’t have the sense or a motherly bone in her body, just look at her past.But sometime in the future she will have to face this child when they grow up and come and ask why this was done to them and why,and what were you thinking.That is when she will pay the piper.Hopefully child will be able to have normal life after this happened to them.And gets,a chance for answers.Oh! and by the way I think we found one of North Iowa Kooks!
How do people let this happen… she oviously doesn’t care for her children so why would they let her have children, if she’s only going to mistreat them.
The court just as well line up another batch of foster parents now. Once this little rip starts humpin and pumpin out kids, its just a matter of time before she looses them too.
This bitch will probably kill the next baby.