A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to 37 years in prison with no possibility of release for what the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office called the “severe physical abuse” of his three children.

One of Dontae Johnson’s children died after being abused, according to an MCAO release.

“By his own admission, this defendant beat and shook his three children. One child tragically, after heroic measures by medical professionals, did not survive,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said.

“The abhorrent facts of this case show this defendant has no place in our community because if he can hurt his own children this way, he can hurt anyone else.”

On Feb. 7, 2020, the Phoenix Police Department responded to a report of child abuse from staff at a hospital. Doctors noted the twin girls each had fractured ribs, bleeding in the brain, liver lacerations and were severely dehydrated and malnourished. The third child was also evaluated and found to have five rib fractures and a broken finger.

Johnson admitted to forcefully shaking the twins on multiple occasions when they wouldn’t stop crying and to repeatedly hitting and inflicting physical harm to the third child, the release stated.

After undergoing numerous surgeries, the first twin died. The second twin now suffers from cerebral palsy, along with significant developmental and cognitive delays, authorities said.

Earlier this year, Johnson pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse and two counts of attempted child abuse.

In addition to the 37-year sentence, Johnson also received lifetime supervised probation.

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