FAYETTE COUNTY — A 25-year-old Vandalia woman was sentenced Thursday in Fayette County court to almost 30 years in prison for holding her infant son above her head and throwing him to the floor causing him permanent disability.

Aubree Hammer entered an open guilty plea in October 2017, to one count Class X felony aggravated battery to a child under the age of 13 causing great bodily harm or permanent disability.

A Class X felony is punishable by between 6 and 30 years in prison.

Court records say that on February 18, 2016, Hammer held her 31/2 month old son head high and threw him to a wooden floor causing the baby permanent brain damage.

Sentencing in the case had been repeatedly delayed by the defense attempting to locate a doctor who had seen Hammer. It was again delayed Thursday as a doctor scheduled to testify on Hammer’s behalf couldn’t attend the 9 a.m. sentencing hearing and didn’t arrive until after 1 p.m.

While the parties waited for the doctor to arrive, the court moved forward with prosecution witnesses providing aggravating testimony in the case and delivering a victim’s impact statement.

Hammer was also allowed to provide her statement of allucution before the doctor arrived to testify.

Judge Don Sheafor then handed down a 27-year sentence, which will be followed by 3-years mandatory supervised release – also known as parole.

He ordered Hammer to pay court costs and gave her credit for 772 days served in the Fayette County Jail.