For throwing his 5-month-old daughter down so hard her skull was fractured, a Waldorf man will serve 15 years.
Delontre James Austin, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree child abuse and neglect of a minor in January. Appearing before Charles County Circuit Court Judge Amy J. Bragunier on Thursday, the court heard the details of the injuries Austin inflicted upon his infant daughter in his irritation at having been woken up by the sound of her crying.
Charles County Sheriff’s Office Det. Edward Webster, the lead investigator in this case, told the court that after the March 28, 2018, incident, he initially received two conflicting stories from Austin about what happened. Eventually, Austin said he had thrown the infant down into her Pack ‘n Play, Webster said. The infant landed on her back, Austin said at the time, and her arms went up. Hours went by until Austin left for work and the baby’s mother, Laquisha Hawkins, called 911.
Austin’s attorney, public defender Michael Beach, said texts exchanged between the mother and father thereafter painted a different story, one that appeared to have Austin covering for Hawkins’ role in their child’s injury. While questioning Laquisha Hawkins, Beach asked about the delay in the baby’s treatment.
“I saw [the swelling on the side of her head], but I didn’t know my daughter was that hurt,” Hawkins said.
The baby was taken for treatment at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where the full extent of her injuries was revealed. Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Freeman told the court doctors determined the baby’s brain tissue had been damaged, indicative of the sheer force with which she was thrown down.
“To this day,” Freeman said, it’s unclear whether Austin actually threw the baby into the Pack ‘n Play or not, as Hawkins had said the crib was full of clothing at the time. Hawkins said on the stand she’d removed the clothes before first responders arrived because she was scared the Department of Social Services would take her children, as the baby had been sleeping in bed with her prior to the incident.
The baby’s grandmother, Tiffany Hawkins, told the court her granddaughter “was a very happy little baby before this happened, and now she’ll have a lifetime of doctors and other things that wouldn’t have been there otherwise.” The baby cannot hold her head up, and may never be able to walk or see.
She acknowledged her daughter’s lies to authorities, but said she lied out of fear and the desire to protect her children and keep them with her.
“I would like to have justice served,” Tiffany Hawkins said. “I want to know what happened that day, and I haven’t had any answers. I just want answers.”
Because of the severity of the child’s injuries, Freeman asked Bragunier to sentence Austin above guidelines, saying there was “no excuse for the amount of force, the injury done to a 5-month-old child.”
Beach said that while there’s no question about the severity of the baby’s condition, because of the opacity surrounding exactly what had led up to the baby’s injuries and hospitalization, no one will “ever really know what happened” that morning and whether Austin is solely culpable. Beach asked for a sentence toward the bottom of the sentencing guidelines, pointing to Austin’s lack of a criminal history prior to this, calling the incident “a tragedy on a lot of levels.”
After Austin spoke, telling the court he is “not a criminal,” Bragunier asked him to explain once and for all what happened that morning, saying she wanted “a detailed account of what happened.” A brief back-and-forth between Beach and the judge ensued, with Beach telling his client he was under no obligation to respond to the judge’s inquiry, telling the court Austin was taking full responsibility.
Bragunier’s question ultimately went unanswered.
Before handing down her sentence, Bragunier called Austin’s actions “abhorrent.”
“You know what happened to your daughter. If you aren’t willing to say, I can’t make you,” Bragunier said. “I know it’s not easy to live with this. … You’re only a public safety threat to a 5-month-old baby who annoyed you with crying.”
Austin received 15 years for the second-degree child abuse count, and five years for neglect: The latter five years are suspended, and run consecutive to the first count. Austin will be on five years of supervised probation upon his release, during which time he will not be permitted unsupervised contact with children younger than 10.
Originally Posted on The Maryland Independent: