Dad to go on trial for severely injuring infant son (Jacksonville, North Carolina)

Dad PHILLIP TORVEN HUBBARD is set to go on trial for severely injuring his infant son back in 2007 (yes, the wheels of American justice roll slowly....). Looks like Hubbard is going for the "clumsy daddy" excuse, which is surprisingly common in these cases. Guys who routinely pirouetted on the football field, caught footballs in midair, and ran for the touchdown while nimbly dodging their opponents SUDDENLY turn into clumsy oafs and trip down the stairs--once they're holding a baby.

http://www.enctoday.com/news/child-84812-jdn-hubbard-abuse.html

Child abuse trial moves forward
November 16, 2010 5:38 AM
MIKE MCHUGH

After three years, the felony child abuse trial of a father accused of severely injuring his infant son in 2007 is set to move forward.

Phillip Torvin Hubbard, 24, is charged with felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury in connection to injuries his son received in March 2007. Hubbard, an Army reservist, has been free on bond since shortly after his arrest nearly three years ago.

Hubbard rejected the state’s final offer in the case Monday. The offer Hubbard turned down would have meant a prison sentence of two to three and a half years.

N.C. Superior Court Judge Jack W. Jenkins explained to Hubbard during a hearing Monday that if convicted he would have to serve an active sentence of between six and a half and 11 years in prison.

Hubbard stood mostly silent beside his attorney, Jacksonville lawyer Janine Dunn, as Jenkins asked him whether he understood the sentence facing him if he were found guilty and the offer presented by prosecutors. Hubbard answered affirmatively.

On March 31, 2007, Hubbard and his son’s mother brought the infant — who was born March 6, 2007 — to the emergency room at Onslow Memorial Hospital because the baby had swelling on the side of his head, according to archived news reports.

X-rays indicated the infant had a skull fracture, multiple rib fractures, a possible leg fracture and a subdural hematoma. The child was transported to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville for treatment and follow-up evaluations by child abuse experts at the hospital’s Teddy Bear Clinic, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said at the time.

Hubbard told investigators that the child suffered the injuries because he fell down a flight of stairs while holding the child, according to news reports at the time.

Assistant District Attorney Bob Roupe said he has dates available in late November and early December, but he was not sure when he would schedule Hubbard’s trial.

Hubbard left the courtroom after the 10-minute hearing and conferred with Dunn in the courthouse lobby, sobbing at times as Dunn questioned him on issues surrounding the case.