A Sherwood father who took to Facebook to decry an Oregon law that makes it hard to prosecute some child abuse cases won praise Thursday from a judge for fighting to bring his 1-year-old son's attacker to justice.

"The way you reacted by really pushing for accountability means you are a pillar of strength in this community," Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Erwin said.

Joshua Marbury's May 20 post - showing his bruised son - went viral and triggered a national outcry that caused police and prosecutors to pursue the case.

Markell Hilaire was sentenced to three months in jail after pleading guilty to assaulting the child. Before he was sentenced, Hilaire told the judge that he hoped the child was OK.

"That night does not define who I am," he said as the boy's parents watched from the courtroom gallery.

But the boy's mother, Alicia Quinney, tearfully told the judge that the family has suffered damage that can't be undone.

"This is a parent's worst nightmare for what can happen to an innocent baby," she said, her voice shaking.

Markell Hilaire, 27

Hilaire, 27, of Tacoma had been drinking when he was baby-sitting the boy and his 3-year-old sister, leading him to lose control of his temper and slap the boy across the face, defense lawyer Kelsyn R. Bevins said.

In March, the boy's parents said they came home from a date night and found their son screaming while Hilaire slept on the couch. The next morning, the boy was covered in bruises.

They took their son to a doctor, who said the bruising showed a handprint. The family was devastated. Hilaire, who had been staying with them after he lost his job, was Marbury's best friend, Quinney said.

Quinney and Marbury took the case to police, but after weeks, authorities filed no criminal charges.

Prosecutors told them that because of an Oregon court ruling, they couldn't make an arrest. The 2012 ruling says that to convict a suspected child abuser, prosecutors must prove that the victim suffered "physical injury" and "substantial pain."

When a victim can't talk, like the 1-year-old boy, it's difficult for prosecutors to prove their pain. And to prove "physical injury," the Appeals Court has said that welts, bruises and cuts aren't enough.

An outraged Marbury posted on Facebook about how the court ruling was preventing his son's abuser from being arresting. The post went viral, sparking a national outcry that Hilaire be charged.

I normally keep my matters with family very private cause i dont need the attention. But this is different. TWO months... Posted by Joshua Marbury on Friday, May 20, 2016

Investigators gathered more evidence that allowed them to charge Hilaire shortly after Marbury posted to Facebook, Kevin Barton, Washington County's senior deputy district attorney, said.

The photo that Marbury shared to Facebook showed his son's injuries more clearly than the photos investigators had, Barton said.

Most importantly, a child abuse pediatrician said, based on the boy's bruises, she could testify in court that he had endured "substantial pain."

Police arrested Hilaire in June after he turned himself in.

Hilaire was depressed and drinking heavily after he lost his job, his lawyer said. He often baby-sat for Marbury and Quinney while he stayed with them.

He had worked around children for years when he helped his grandmother run her daycare business and he never had any dangerous interactions then, Bevins said.

But Erwin said none of that excused his decision to hit a child.

"This is an act of violence against the most vulnerable member of our society," Erwin said. "And it's not just an act of violence, but it's a breach of trust."

The judge also sentenced Hilaire to three years of probation and said he must undergo an alcohol treatment program, anger management classes and can't have contact with minors who aren't related to him.

-- Samantha Matsumoto

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