Norwich -- A 29-year-old man was sentenced Monday in New London Superior Court to 2 1/2 years in prison for breaking the leg of his live-in girlfriend's 1-year-old son in October 2015.

Rolando Rivas, 28, had pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor in connection with the child abuse case. He pleaded guilty to fourth-degree larceny in a separate case involving the use of counterfeit money at Mohegan Sun.

Judge Hillary B. Strackbein sentenced him to five years in prison, suspended after 2 1/2 years served, followed by five years of probation and ordered him to repay the casino $3,010 in the counterfeit case. Prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman said it was a "compromised disposition," because the evidence against Rivas was circumstantial and there were no eyewitnesses to the abuse.

Rivas is is prohibited from having contact with the child, who is "doing well," according to attorney Jean Park, who served as his guardian ad litem.

Norwich police began investigating after an investigator from the Department of Children and Families notified the department on Oct. 28, 2015, that the baby had been taking to the emergency room at The William W. Backus Hospital for a fractured right femur.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Rivas was baby-sitting while the child's mother was at work. He and the mother took the child to Backus after, he said, the baby refused to stand up or walk. Rivas said he "manipulated the victim's legs back and forth and thats when he heard 'crunching,''' according to the affidavit.

The baby was taken to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, where doctors said he had a total of 16 fractures, including thigh and shin fractures that appeared new and several fractured ribs that appeared to be three to four weeks old and were healing. The child also had bruising on his thigh and back which did not appear to be the result of accidents. Doctors said the injuries appeared to be a result of inflicted trauma.

The baby's older sister, a second-grader, told police Rivas had walked her to school that morning. She said before she went to school, she noticed her brother had been unable to straighten his leg and was not walking around. She said while she was getting dressed, she heard a noise that sounded like "someone hitting somebody" and that she had heard the noise at other times.

The children's mother told police that after the incident, she asked her daughter if Rivas had ever placed his hands on the victim and the girl said yes. The mother said she asked her daughter why she didn't tell, and the daughter said she was scared.

Rivas' attorney, Salvatore Bonanno, said Rivas was under the influence of marijuana when the incident occurred and that he's upset it happened.

"You hurt a child," Judge Strackbein told Rivas. "They're innocent and have no defense mechanism. You shouldn't be using drugs when taking care of a child, even marijuana. People think it's harmless, but it isn't."

k.florin@theday.com