Investigators say a 3-month-old Kokomo boy suffered through what one expert called “severe child abuse" at the hands of his father, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case.
The defendant, Dakota Richardson, 22, is currently facing two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in catastrophic injury, both Level 1 felonies, and a single count of aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony, for his alleged role in the investigation.
His charges stem from an incident that allegedly occurred on or around March 26, per court documents.
That’s the day when officers responded to Community Howard Regional Health in reference to an infant who had been brought to that location with several reported injuries, including a brain bleed and several broken bones, court documents state.
Investigators say some of those broken bones were reportedly in various stages of healing.
The boy was eventually transported to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis for further treatment and testing, according to court documents. That additional testing reportedly showed that the infant also had retinal hemorrhages in his right eye and blood on the spine.
Those injuries, according to a doctor’s report at the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, could have been caused by “pulling or jerking” the leg and “forceful compression,” court records state.
And when investigators reportedly attempted to question Richardson about how his son sustained such injuries, court documents state he “plead the Fifth and the Sixth” Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which in part allows individuals the right to not self-incriminate.
However, investigators in the case did speak with the infant’s mother, who reportedly told authorities the child was acting “fine” when she went to work, per court records.
But a few hours later, when Richardson picked the woman up from work, the baby “could not hold up his head, and his eyes were rolling back,” according to the woman’s interview with police as detailed in the probable cause affidavit.
The boy’s mother also told authorities she had never seen Richardson become violent with the infant boy or the boy’s older brother but also admitted that Richardson allegedly used cocaine and was the only one reportedly watching the 3-month-old while she was at work, court documents stated.
It was around that time in the interview that the woman began sobbing and telling authorities that Richardson and she had recently agreed to separate, court records state.
Richardson is currently being held at the Howard County Jail on $40,000 cash bond, with no 10%, and his initial hearing in Howard Superior Court 4 is still pending.
Anyone with additional information on this case is asked to contact Det. Brent Wines at 765-456-7342 or the KPD Hotline at 765-456-7017. You can also submit a tip anonymously on the department’s “Kokomo PD” mobile app, texting the tip to TIP411 or by calling Central Indiana Crime Stoppers at 1-800-262-TIPS
