HAMILTON — A Butler County jury decided Thursday night that Tiana Centers should have foreseen that her boyfriend could cause her 3-year-old daughter serious physical harm when she left him alone with her on Jan. 1.

Miles

Centers

        After deliberating for six hours, the Common Pleas Court jury convicted Ms. Centers of a third-degree felony charge of permitting child abuse leading to serious physical harm.

        Ms. Centers, 20, of Middletown could be sentenced to one to five years in prison. When the jury's verdict was read, she covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

        Her daughter, Courtney, bled to death on Jan. 1 from a liver that had been lacerated by a blow to her abdomen.

        Her boyfriend, Kevin Charles Miles, admitted on a videotaped statement to police that he punched Courtney hard twice while Ms. Centers was out with a friend buying cigarettes and soft drinks.

        The jury declined to convict Ms. Centers of a more serious first-degree felony charge of permitting child abuse leading to death. That charge carries a possible sentence of three to 10 years.

Courtney

        Judge H.J. Bressler will sentence her May 3.

        Prosecutor Robin Piper said he was satisfied with the jury's verdict.

        “The jury held this woman accountable for failing to protect her 3-year-old baby,” he said.

        Ms. Centers' attorney, Scott Blauvelt, said he was disappointed with the verdict, but was glad the jury ignored the more serious charge.

        Mr. Miles, 27, of Woodlawn, is charged with murder and felony child endangering. His trial before Judge Bressler begins May6.

        His attorney, James Cooper, filed a motion this week saying Mr. Miles might not be mentally competent to stand trial. At a hearing today, Judge Bressler will decide whether to appoint a psychologist to evaluate Mr. Miles.

        The three-day trial focused on whether Ms. Centers should have foreseen the serious danger Mr. Miles posed to Courtney. She also has a 22-month-old daughter, Emily, and is pregnant by Mr. Miles, whom she met last fall.

        Mr. Blauvelt said in his closing argument that Ms. Centers didn't realize that Mr. Miles was abusing her children.

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