On Tuesday in a packed Newark courtroom, Jonathan Ortiz was sentenced to seven years in prison for killing his girlfriend's son, 4-year-old Jayden Hayes, while babysitting at her parents' Vose Avenue apartment on April 2, 2008. The medical examiner's office cited blunt force trauma to the abdomen as the cause of death.

According to Mark Ali, director of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office's Child Abuse Unit and the assistant prosecutor assigned to the case, the plea offer was for a manslaughter charge with a prison term not to exceed seven years. Ortiz and his lawyer spoke on Tuesday to request that the sentence not exceed five years, but Superior Court Judge Peter Vasquez sentenced him to seven.

The 200-person capacity courtroom was packed with supporters of both the defendant and the victim, Ali said. Jayden's parents, as well as his maternal grandparents and paternal grandmother, also spoke.

Ortiz will be eligible for parole in 5 years and 11 months, according to Ali. He began serving his term in state prison on the day of sentencing.