Mother sentenced in drowning death of Moore County toddler

The mother of a Moore County toddler who drowned in April 2016 was sentenced Monday to a minimum to 19 months in prison, according to The Fayetteville Observer.

Posted 1:46 a.m. Jun 6, 2017 — Updated 9:19 p.m. Jun 8, 2017

VASS, N.C. — The mother of a Moore County toddler who drowned in April 2016 was sentenced Monday to a minimum to 19 months in prison.

Rylan Ott, who was three weeks shy of his second birthday, was found unresponsive in a pond off Pond Branch Road near Vass and was pronounced dead at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.

Samantha Nacole Bryant, 31, was sentenced Monday to a minimum prison term of 19 months and a maximum term of 32 months for allowing the toddler to wander away and drown in the pond that was located about a half mile from his home.

Bryant was given credit for 14 months already served in the Moore County Jail.

Bryant had lost custody of her son in 2015, after a drunken fight with her boyfriend. She regained custody two months later, despite opposition from the boy’s temporary guardians.

On Wednesday, Bryant received an additional 120 day sentence for underlying misdemeanor charges which caused Ott to be taken into DDS custody in October 2015.

Suggest A Correction