Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Dad gets 12 years for "neglect" of 6-week-old son; baby had cracked skull and "older" fractures (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Given that this 6-week-old baby had "older" injuries in addition to the fractured skull and displaced femur fracture, one can only conclude that his @$$wipe of a father, CORTEZ LEE, had been abusing him from birth. Sickening. Why this is called "neglect" and not an assault is quite beyond me.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100713/LOCAL03/100719837

Last updated: July 13, 2010 2:11 p.m.
Father gets 12 years in neglect of infant
Baby had multiple fractures, according to testimony
By Rebecca S. Green The Journal Gazette

A 21-year-old Fort Wayne man was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison for neglecting his 6-week-old son.

Cortez Lee was convicted by a jury in June of the Class B felony charge of neglect of a dependent. He was charged in December after he and the child’s mother took Cordell Lee to a local hospital with a displaced femur fracture.

Doctors at the hospital found a crack running the length of the baby’s skull that caused bleeding on his brain. They also discovered older fractures in the infant’s wrist, rib, foot and shin. During the trial, doctors testified the injuries took a good deal of force to inflict and the results of the injuries would have been obvious to anyone caring for the child.

None of the explanations offered by the parents fit with the injuries, according to testimony.

In sentencing Lee, Allen Superior Judge Fran Gull echoed the earlier testimony, saying it had turned her stomach to listen to it during the trial.