ALFRED – A Saco woman has been sentenced to three years behind bars for repeatedly beating her infant daughter.

Carolyn Cote, 27, was sentenced Monday in York County Superior Court to eight years in prison with all but three suspended, along with four years probation.

She also was ordered to have no contact with her children and no unsupervised contact with children under age 10 during her probation period.

Cote pleaded guilty in December to aggravated assault and assault on a child under 6.

Cote admitted beating her daughter, Jocelyn Cote, then 5 months old, repeatedly over a 36-hour period in September 2000. The beatings caused severe head injuries which require Jocelyn, now 2 years old, to live with a shunt in her head that must be drained every three to four months.

The girl is now in foster care.

Deputy District Attorney Kathryn L. Slattery acknowledged that Cote was abused as a child and suffers from mental and emotional health problems. But Slattery told Superior Court Justice Robert Crowley that Cote was receiving aid from several different charities and had people visiting her and her two children on a daily basis.

Slattery said Jocelyn’s age and size at the time of the beatings was the most aggravating circumstance. Jocelyn was 26 inches long and weighed 12 pounds at the time.