Carstens receives 30 to 40-year sentence for injuring infant

Christofer N. Carstens of Oakdale was sentenced to decades behind bars last week.

Carstens, who has been in custody since his early June 2019 arrest on felony child abuse charges, after his infant daughter was hospitalized with severe injuries including fractures to her skull and multiple other bones, was sentenced by the Honorable Mark Johnson Wednesday, April 29, in the Antelope County district courtroom.

Johnson sentenced Carstens to not less than 30, nor more than 40 years in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Corrections. Carstens was given credit for 329 days served in the county jail.

Johnson allowed a letter to the court, dated April 15, from the infant’s maternal grandmother to be included in a presentence investigative report he reviewed with Carstens prior to sentencing. The judge also heard comments on sentencing from county prosecutor Joe Abler.

Johnson’s findings included: A sentence less than incarceration would depreciate the seriousness of the offense and promote disrespect for the law; incarceration is necessary to protect the security of the public; the crime caused serious harm; there is no reason to excuse or justify the offense; Carstens understood the consequences of his actions and the potential harm; and he is in need of correctional treatment that can be most effectively provided in a correctional facility.

Carstens was convicted of the Class 2 felony, child abuse causing serious bodily injury, in February, after pleading no contest, pursuant to a plea agreement.

At that time, Abler said had the case gone to trial, testimony would have shown fractures to the six-week-old baby’s ribs, clavicle, arm and skull were not of an accidental nature. The prosecutor also said testimony would have indicated lasting effects from the “very serious injury.” He said Carstens was the sole caregiver of the infant the night of May 24 and morning of May 25, 2019, when the injuries were inflicted.

An affidavit filed in June 2019 by Antelope County sheriff Bob Moore, who investigated the indicated Carstens admitted to becoming frustrated with his daughter and tossed her up in the air, with her head contacting the ceiling. According to Moore’s report, Carstens also advised he became frustrated because child would not stop crying and he held her with his hands under her armpits and shook her.

According to the record, Carstens resisted requests by the infant’s mother and others to take the infant to the hospital on several occasions prior to her grandparents making a 911 call on May 25.

Carstens was represented by Antelope County public defender Patrick Carney of Norfolk.