20 Years For Man Who Killed Toddler In Montville: Prosecutor

MONTVILLE, NJ — A man who pleaded guilty to beating his girlfriend's 3-year-old son to death in a Montville hotel room has been sentenced to 20 years in jail, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said.

Maurice Pearson, 31, from Pine Brook, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter and simple assault. He will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for release, and will be subject to five years of parole when he's released.

“The senseless killing of a defenseless child warranted the significant prison sentence of this defendant. Nothing can be done or said that will ever restore his mother’s loss, however we hope this sentence in some way brings her closure," Knapp said.

Pearson was arrested on April 10, 2015 for assaulting his 25-year-old girlfriend and her 3-year-old son at the Knights Inn at 55 Route 46 in the Pine Brook section of Montville. Mother and son were both taken to the hospital; the mother was treated and released, but Solomon died of his injuries.

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