An Oxford Township father accused of shaking his infant daughter to the point where she sustained critical injuries pleaded no contest to first-degree child abuse.

Christopher Scott Williams, 25, entered his plea on Feb. 26 in Oakland County Circuit Court.

A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, however, the court treats it as such for sentencing purposes. It means the accused is not contesting the facts on which the criminal charge is based.

Williams’s sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. on March 26 before Circuit Court Judge Shalina Kumar. He’s been held in the Oakland County Jail since early December in lieu of $500,000 bond.

On Dec. 7 last year, Williams called public safety personnel to his home on Chinkapin Rill in the Lake Villa Manufactured Home Community because his daughter, Emily Paige Williams, who was born on Oct. 5, had stopped breathing.

Emily was initially transported to Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital (formerly Crittenton), then taken to Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit.

The attending physician in Children’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit told investigators the infant had sustained “non-accidental trauma” to the brain, which resulted in bleeding and severe swelling.

The doctor said it was a “very clear” case of “child abuse” and “the mechanism of injury was likely a violent and forceful shaking,” according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s report.

During an interview with investigators, the report indicated Williams admitted to shaking his daughter, demonstrated how hard he did it, then stated he “did not mean to hurt her.” He told them “he just wanted her to stop crying.”

According to sheriff’s Det. Shane Freiberg, Emily is out of the hospital, but she requires a ventilator to breathe.