A Maplewood man was sentenced to more than two decades in prison for beating his girlfriend’s 17-month-old daughter to death last winter.
Leb Mike Meak, 36, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the February 2015 murder of Genesis Xiong, according to Dennis Gerhardstein, a spokesman for the Ramsey County attorney’s office.
Meak pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case in October.
At his plea hearing, Meak admitted he caused the injuries that led to the child’s death.
Specifically, he admitted to squeezing the toddler with both hands, causing a rib fracture; hitting her in the abdomen, causing an injury to her liver; and throwing her on the bed, which caused the child to hit her head on a wall.
The injuries occurred while the child was at Meak’s Maplewood home. At the time, Meak was dating the child’s mother, Lia Pearson, and the toddler had been staying with Meak for several weeks before her death.
Police were called to Meak’s home Feb. 12 on a report of a baby not breathing.
They found the girl covered in black and purple bruises on her stomach, chest and face.
Meak told police at the time that the girl hit her head on a space heater the night before and on some of his weights the week before.
Pearson faces charges of child endangerment and manslaughter for her role in her daughter’s death.
Her case is scheduled to go to trial July 11, Gerhardstein said.
“It’s just incredibly sad; a child lost her life,” he said.