BIG THANK YOU to Judge Charles Greenacre, who rejected a little sweetheart deal cut between the DA and the attorney representing dad LEOBARDO RINCON. With this deal, dad would have served just 3 years in prison for fracturing the skull of his 13-month-old daughter. The child nearly died from her injuries. And that's not even going into all the bruising and prior evidence of a broken bone.
Note that "the mother is no where to be found." What the heck does that mean? It's possible she ran away, sure. But has anybody considered the possibility that Daddy played some role in her "disappearance?" It's not like the guy is a stranger to violence or anything.
Judge Greenacre rejects plea agreement in child abuse case
Written by Pat Sunderland
Wednesday, 21 April 2010 00:00
A three-year prison sentence would “unduly depreciate” the severity of injuries suffered when a 13-month-old was struck by her father, Leobardo Rincon, Judge Charles Greenacre ruled Monday. In district court April 19 he set aside a plea agreement between the district attorney’s office and Rincon’s defense attorney, Diane Allen, and ordered all parties to return to court in May.
Rincon pleaded guilty to felony child abuse in February, admitting he hit his daughter on top of her head with his fist. As a result, Judge Greenacre noted, the toddler suffered a skull fracture which medical authorities said could have resulted in her death without prompt medical care. According to medical records, she was also recovering from a broken bone, which indicated to Judge Greenacre that the September 2009 head injury was not an isolated incident.
Deputy district attorney Wiley Christopher said that while Rincon’s actions appear to warrant a more lengthy sentence, three years is the best option. The child has fully recovered and is showing no long-term effects of her injury, Christopher said. In addition, he believes any attempt to prove head trauma during a trial would become a “battle of the experts.”
There were no eyewitnesses to the event, and the mother is “nowhere to be found.”
The toddler’s grandmother, however, was present to speak on behalf of the young victim. “This is not fair,” she said of the three-year sentence. “She has to go through life wondering why he did this to her. He was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to be there for her.”
She spoke of injuries beyond the skull fracture, including two black eyes and bruises up and down the toddler’s back.
Defense attorney Diane Allen told the judge Rincon was “horrified” at his actions and immediately called 911. She described his movement as a slap with an open hand, not a fist to the girl’s head, and said Rincon did not have ill intent.
Before the family moved to Delta, they lived with Leo’s parents in California. Neither they nor his sister ever witnessed any abuse, Allen told the judge.
They moved closer to the child’s maternal grandmother with the hope of finding work here, but Rincon could not get a job. Facing increasing financial strain, the family was living in a motel, a situation Allen likened to a “pressure cooker.”