SMYTH COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) — A Marion man was sentenced to two years in a state penitentiary after he was convicted of “brutally beating” his 12-year-old autistic stepson, according to prosecutors.

In a news release, Smyth County Commonwealth Attorney Phillip “Bucky” Blevins announced that Casey Mobley, 35, was sentenced on Tuesday to serve two years in a state penitentiary. The judge also suspended an additional three years on the condition that Mobley be on supervised probation.

On the morning of July 14, 2023, Mobley “attacked his then-stepson because his stepson had eaten bread while in bed,” the release states.

Mobley reportedly cursed while he hit the child in the buttocks and face for roughly 30 seconds. The beating was reportedly recorded on a closed-circuit television.

Mobley pleaded guilty to felony child abuse on March 11, 2025, without a plea agreement being worked out.

The state’s sentencing guidelines recommended an active incarceration period of one day to six months, but Blevins argued against the guidelines, calling them “out-of-touch.” Judge Jeffrey Campbell ultimately agreed and settled on the two-year sentence.

“Casey Mobley is a monster who beat a child without mercy,” Blevins said in the release. “The young man was vulnerable, innocent, and deserving of love and protection – not violence. What Mobley did is inexcusable and unconscionable.”