Taney County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey M. Merrell announced that Friday, August 5, 2016, JOSHUA E. HOLLER a/k/a JOSHUA HOLLAR, d/o/b: 6-13-1986, of Branson, was sentenced by Christian County Associate Circuit Court Judge Doug Bacon to twelve (12) years in prison for the class B felony of abuse of a child. The sentence was the result of a plea agreement Holler made with the Taney County Prosecutor’s Office.

The felony charge stemmed from a call for emergency medical assistance that was needed for a sixteen-month-old child at an apartment on Cannonball Loop, in Branson, on July 31, 2015. The child was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where doctors determined that the child had suffered multiple serious, non-accidental injuries to his head and face. When questioned, Holler told investigators that he had tripped and fallen on the child while Holler was vacuuming the floor in the apartment, on July 28, 2015. Holler’s explanation did not match the injuries to the child, according to the child’s doctors.

The class B felony of abuse of a child carries a maximum sentence of not more than fifteen (15) years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.