Dad pleads guilty to assaulting 6-month-old daughter; baby has severe brain damage (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Dad ALEXANDER DELMARKO LAVALLAIS has pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in a case involving his 6-month-old daughter. The baby suffered severe brain damage in the incident, and was initially hospitalized with head injuries (including bleeding on the brain), multiple rib fractures, multiple retinal hemorrhages, and bruises.

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Guilty plea in assault on infant Minneapolis daughter
Her father wept as he entered his plea and was unable to give the court the details of assaulting his daughter.

By ROCHELLE OLSON, Star Tribune

Last update: December 2, 2009 - 7:08 PM

A 20-year-old Minneapolis man sobbed as he pleaded guilty Wednesday to assaulting his 6-month-old daughter, who suffered severe brain-damage.

Alexander Delmarko Lavallais, 20, has been in custody since he was charged in late October in Hennepin County District Court. He pleaded guilty to first-degree assault. Judge Todd Barnette set sentencing for Dec. 30 at 1:30 p.m.

Assistant County Attorney Deborah Russell said the anticipated sentence is just short of seven years in prison.

Lavallais cried so hard as he entered his plea that he appeared unable to provide details about how he injured his daughter.

The criminal complaint against him listed serious injuries suffered by the girl, identified only as Child A. They included bleeding on the brain, other brain injuries, multiple rib fractures, multiple retinal hemorrhages and several bruises.

The girl's mother, identified only as L.A.A., left the baby and another child with Lavallais in her apartment for two hours in October, according to the complaint.

When the mother returned, she found the 6-month-old on a bed wheezing and gasping, with purple marks on her chest and injuries to her head, the complaint said.

Lavallais told police the baby had rolled off a bed, according to the complaint. He was arrested after staffers at Hennepin County Medical Center said the injuries did not appear to be consistent with a fall from a bed, the complaint said.

Later, in an interview with police, Lavallais said he dropped the baby on the bathroom floor, according to the complaint. But medical staffers did not believe the injuries were consistent with that explanation either, the complaint said.