DENVER -- A woman was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison for dumping her baby in the trash shortly after giving birth.

In 2004, Erin Pendleton, 31, delivered a full-term baby boy in the bathroom stall of a North Cherry Creek sports bar. The Denver coroner said the infant was born alive but had died of asphyxiation.

Pendleton pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death on Jan. 18, 2008. Denver Judge Anne Mansfield acknowledged Pendleton's history of mental illness and called the entire case tragic.

Prosecutors called Pendleton a "selfish, self-centered" person who put her desires ahead of anyone else.

The body of the newborn, who was later named Isaah, was found in the women's restroom of Legends Bar and Grill by a janitor on June 26, 2004. The newborn was stuffed in a plastic bag, found at the bottom of the trash bin, and covered in a layer of trash, according to the arrest affidavit.

Pendleton had been at the bar the previous night and had given birth in a bathroom stall.

In court Pendleton asked for leniency telling the judge she was sorry for what had happened and she apologized to her family. Her final words were, "Isaah, rest in peace."

According to the arrest affidavit, Pendleton continued bar-hopping with her friends after she gave birth. When her two friends asked about why she was in the bathroom for 90 minutes and why she had blood on her clothes, she told them that she had passed a kidney stone.

The women then left the bar and went to the home of one of the friends, where Pendleton borrowed some clothes to replace her bloody outfit. After changing, she left with her friends for another bar, where they continued drinking, the affidavit said.

Pendleton received 1,337 days credit for time already served.