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A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of his 10-month-old daughter and will serve at least 23 years in prison, a district attorney said Thursday.

Martin County District Attorney Seth Edwards said Ricky Roberson, 53, was sentenced to between 23 and 32 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree sex offense, news outlets reported.

Edwards said Roberson called 911 on Jan. 29, 2017 to report that his child was unresponsive inside a home in Williamston. Emergency responders found that the child had been dead for some time and efforts to revive the child were unsuccessful.

Investigators with Williamston police and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation interviewed the mother, who said she allowed the child to spend time at the father’s home.

Three days earlier, the mother told investigators she was upset to find Roberson and another man drinking and smoking marijuana, according to Edwards. After an argument with Roberson, officials said the mother allowed the child to stay with the father.

Edwards said autopsy findings included hemorrhaging in addition to injuries to her spinal cord. The medical examiner determined cause of death to the child to be from traumatic neck injuries.

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