Sterling man sentenced to 4 years in prison for aggravated battery of a child

A Sterling man has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of aggravated battery of a child younger than 13.Harley Canas, 27, pleaded guilty Friday to the charge during a hearing in Whiteside County Circuit Court in Morrison. Charges of aggravated domestic battery/strangulation, causing a child to be endangered, and domestic battery/physical contact were dismissed as part of a plea agreement, according to court records.Canas was taken into custody on all those charges Oct. 20, 2025, in connection with a report Sterling police received July 27, 2025, alleging a battery involving a child in the 500 block of 12th Avenue, Sterling. Authorities at that time said the offenses happened between April 1 and July 14, 2025. The domestic battery/strangulation charge specifically accused Canas of committing a domestic battery and intentionally strangling a 5-year-old, according to court documents. The child endangerment charge accused him of choking the child, court