UTAH STATE PRISON — A man convicted of nearly starving his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter while his girlfriend was deployed to Iraq will be released from prison next year.

The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole announced last week that Michael John Bowden, 28, will be granted parole effective November 2009. He has been ordered to complete mental health treatment and an internal prison drug program.

Bowden was sentenced to serve up to 15 years for child abuse, a second-degree felony. He was convicted of neglecting to care for Jade Ferrando and allowing her to wither down to 12 pounds back in 2006. The child has cerebral palsy, and Ferrando's mother, Anahi, left her in Bowden's care while she was serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq.

During trial, Bowden blamed what happened on post-traumatic stress from his own service in Iraq. The parole board also ordered Bowden to complete the prison's ConQuest program for drug offenders before being released.

— Ben Winslow