YOUNGSTOWN — A woman from Kent was sentenced to 30 days in the Mahoning County jail Thursday and was ordered to complete a four- to six-month program through the Community Corrections Association of Youngstown for failure to protect her child from her boyfriend.

Gina A. Grande, 46, pleaded guilty in October to one count of felony child endangering, and prosecutors were recommending she get 18 months in prison. She also got three years of probation.

Katilyn Andrews, assistant county prosecutor, agreed with Judge Anthony Donofrio of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court that Grande’s offense was for covering up for her boyfriend, Aaron J. Hall, 50 Rhoda Ave., who pleaded guilty in October to the same offense as Grande, as well misdemeanor child endangering.

The couple were charged as a result of her daughter being unconscious for about 15 minutes and “bruising that was consistent with strangulation” and was “ruled highly concerning for non-accidental trauma,” Andrews said during Grande’s sentencing hearing.

Her son was found to have bruising that also was highly concerning for non-accidental trauma. He later disclosed once he was out of his mother’s care the co-defendant in this case, Mr. Hall, this defendant’s boyfriend, would hurt the children, Andrews said.

“She is the mother of these two children. It is her job to take care of these children, protect these children, to make sure nothing happens. This is a man she had an active protection order against for domestic violence. She knew he was a violent person. And instead of taking care of her children, she brought them into the home where she knew they were potentially in harm’s way,” Andrews said.

Grande initially told authorities the female child “was unconscious because she had an allergic reaction, that this was some sort of medical issue.” Later she said her son caused her daughter’s injuries, Andrews said.

“They said these injuries came from some kind of choking, and she chose to blame it on her 6-year-old son to cover for her boyfriend,” Andrews said.

The doctors said there was “no possible way that a 6-year-old child could have caused these types of injuries. She could have lost her child that day,” Andrews said.

Walter Ritchie, Grande’s attorney, said Grande has only a domestic violence conviction involving Hall. He said Grande “has a lot of mental health issues” and a “bad upbringing.”

Grande told the judge the reason she was in Mahoning County is the housing she had in Kent flooded so she had to find a temporary place to live. Hall’s mother allowed them to stay at her home in Mahoning County. She stayed there with Hall even though she had a protection order against him, Grande said. She said her main goal is to get her children back. “I’m on my case plan. The plan is reunification,” she said.

Prosecutors were recommending Hall get 24 months in prison, but not appearing for a sentencing hearing can result in a judge giving a more serious sentence.