A Cheyenne man who prosecutors say spanked his 5-year-old daughter "to the point that she was bleeding in her underwear" was sentenced Friday in Laramie County District Court to five years of probation.

Thomas Langhorne pleaded guilty to child abuse on June 29, admitting that he "might have over-done it" when he spanked his daughter between Jan. 12-15.

The state stood by the plea agreement, recommending a three to five year prison sentence, but Langhorne's public defender, David Hopkinson, argued for probation, pointing out his client's lack of a criminal record.

"He's not the same person," said Hopkinson. "He's made the effort to better himself so this doesn't happen again."

"There are unresolved injuries to that child," said Judge Thomas Campbell, who struggled with the presentence report's recommendation that Langhorne be placed on probation.

Campbell gave Langhorne a stern warning, saying he would send him to prison if he violated the terms of his probation.

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