‘She looks like a criminal to me’: Family reacts to sentencing in baby Amiah case
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Missing 8-month-old Amiah Robertson’s mother, Amber Robertson, was sentenced to six years for neglect of a dependent child on Friday.
By Friday night, she’d been released from jail, her family said.
Amber Robertson had been charged with four counts of neglect. She pleaded guilty to a count of neglect of a dependent child, a felony ranked as Level 5 of 6.
In exchange for her guilty plea, the state dismissed the other three neglect charges.
Despite the sentencing, she will not spend another day in jail. Judge Marie Kern gave Amber Robertson 637 days of credit for time served and 212 days credit for good behavior. The remainder of her sentence was suspended to probation, totaling 1,341 days.
Amber Robertson was also ordered to take parenting classes and complete a mental health evaluation.
Amber Robertson’s father testified at Friday’s sentencing and spoke to News 8 immediately after he received the news. He said the punishment his daughter is receiving simply is not enough.
“I don’t agree with her being let out,” her father, Chuck Robertson, said. “I believe in my heart maybe she didn’t harm Amiah physically, but I believe she knows what happened to Amiah.”
Additional details surrounding the infant’s disappearance were said publicly for the first time at the sentencing.
According to prosecutors, on March 8, 2019, Amber and her boyfriend, Robert Lyons, went to a hotel on the west side of Indianapolis with several other people. They had the child with them while hard drugs were present at the hotel.
“She was fully aware of what her daughter was surrounded by and you should know better as a parent,” an advocate for Amiah Robertson, C.C. Hatton, said.
Amber Robertson took a photo with the baby, the last known photo of Amiah Robertson ever taken.
Following that hotel visit, Amber Robertson did not know where her child was, prosecutors said. She did not report the baby missing for about a week.
The baby remains missing.
Chuck Robertson said the happenings have altered his view of his daughter.
“I can’t look at her the same way,” Chuck Robertson said. “I can’t look at her as my daughter. She looks like a criminal to me now.”
He’s hopeful the public remains steadfast in honoring his granddaughter’s life.
Lyons was recently sentenced for his role in the baby’s disappearance. He received a 16-year sentence, with 10 years in person and six years suspended. He pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.
Advocate C.C. Hatton created a memorial honoring Amiah Robertson. (Provided Photo/C.C. Hatton)
