Grand Island Man Pleads No Contest to Using a Rod to Hit His Dau - KHGI-TV/KWNB-TV/KHGI-CD-Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A Grand Island man accused of hitting his 8-year-old daughter with a rod from a shower caddy has pleaded no contest in the case.

Josh Swaim, 33, entered the plea Tuesday as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. Instead of three felonies, he has been convicted of one misdemeanor count of child abuse in Hall County Court.

Charges were filed in October after the girl's school reported bruises on the child.

Authorities say Swaim had been home with his three children, ages 8, 6, and 1, on Oct. 16, when part of the shower broke as the 8-year-old girl gave her 1-year-old sibling a bath. Investigators say Swaim became angry and hit the oldest with a bar from the shower caddy.