A Powell man is serving three months in jail for the abuse he reportedly inflicted on his girlfriend’s 6-year-old child last summer.

Thayne D. Vialpando, 23, admitted in Park County District Court last week that he’d squeezed the child’s cheeks during a frustrated attempt to get the child to eat their vegetables.

The June 2024 incident, which took place at the Powell home shared by Vialpando and the child’s mother, Jade M. Flowers, left scabs and bruises on the child’s face. Powell police also noticed additional bruises on several other parts of the youth’s body — including the arm, shoulder and back — and hair missing from other rough treatment, charging documents say.

The Park County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office originally charged Vialpando with a felony count of child abuse, but agreed to lower it to a misdemeanor count of reckless endangering as part of a plea deal.

The agreement, which was accepted by Park County District Court Judge Bill Simpson last week, calls for a total of 90 days of jail time. Another 90 days will be suspended in favor of six months of unsupervised probation. He must also pay $250.

Vialpando’s court-appointed attorney, Sam Krone, said his client has made “significant progress” since the case was filed last year. The 6-year-old and two other children in the home were initially taken into protective custody, and Krone indicated that Vialpando was placed under quite a few requirements as part of a confidential juvenile case — including an order to undergo counseling.

“He’s changed significantly,” Krone said.

Simpson, who presides over juvenile proceedings, concurred, saying Vialpando has done “good work” in that confidential case.

“I think you’ve come a long way,” the judge said.

In the wake of last year’s incident, Vialpando agreed with police that he’d gone too far and Flowers, the child’s mother, “admitted things may have been rougher than they should have been,” charging documents say.

Flowers, who turns 26 this year, allegedly participated in squeezing the child’s cheeks. Prosecutors charged her with felony child abuse in August, but dropped the case in September.

At Vialpando’s June 19 sentencing, Simpson advised him “to think twice before acting once” and to avoid doing stupid things in anger.

“I think you’ve learned a valuable lesson here,” the judge said — including that “it’s better to just walk away” in those kinds of situations.

Vialpando, who’d been free on bond, checked into the Park County Detention Center a few days ahead of his sentencing to start serving his time; combined with the two weeks he served after his initial arrest, Vialpando is set to complete his jail sentence in early September.