Absolutely no explanation here as to how this abusive father managed to get access. Did he assault the mother? Threaten her? Abduct the child? Why was he not supposed to be with his son before? Previous history of child abuse, domestic violence? If so, why was the mother left to enforce this on her own? Why wasn't he locked up? Lots of unanswered questions here.
Dad is identified as BILLY ALLEN WHITE.
http://www.bdtonline.com/news/man-convicted-of-shaking-infant-son-leaving-him-blind-and/article_de191d68-ea60-11e5-9501-df969267815d.html
Man convicted of shaking infant son, leaving him blind and brain damaged, receives maximum sentence allowable
By GREG JORDAN Bluefield Daily Telegraph
7 hrs ago
Billy Allen White, 28, of Princeton waits for his sentencing hearing to begin before judge William Sadler in Princeton Monday afternoon.
PRINCETON — A father convicted of shaking his infant son and leaving him both blind and brain damaged received the maximum penalty allowable by law Monday in Mercer County Circuit Court.
Circuit Court Judge William Sadler proceeded to sentence Billy Allen White, 28, of Princeton after denying a motion for a new trial.
White was convicted in January on one charge of child abuse leading to serious injury. A jury found him not guilty on a second charge of child abuse. His son, Corey White, then 5 months old, was left with brain damage and retina scarring after being severely shaken.
White testified at his trial that he panicked when his son stopped breathing in May 2014 and did not realize how hard he had shaken him. However, Dr. Joan Phillips, a physician specializing in child abuse and neglect cases, testified at White’s trial that the infant’s injuries were consistent with child abuse. She compared the sheer force needed to inflict his injuries with the force hitting the victim of a rollover car crash.
Sadler said White was not supposed to be with his son as part of a child custody agreement, and that the court found his excuse “ludicrous.”
“This is a child who has been sentenced to a life of suffering and debilitating injury,” Sadler said. “I can’t sentence him to a life of suffering like he sentenced this child.”
White was sentenced to a term of two to 10 years in prison, and Sadler stated he would recommend to the parole board that White serve as much time as possible. Sadler said under the law, he had to grant White 419 days credit for the time served in jail since his arrest.
Sadler also imposed a $1,000 fine, and granted a judgment against White for the medical expenses the state has incurred while treating Corey White. Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney George Sitler said he did not know the amount of money spent on treatment, but added the sum could be more than $1 million. White also must be registered as a child abuser for the remainder of his life.
Corey’s adoptive father, Woodrow Cecil Jr. gave the court an emotional statement before Sadler pronounced sentence.
“I’ll never understand how you could hurt this baby,” Cecil told White, going on to say how Corey still could not see, and could not walk, speak, or do anything of the things a 2-year-old child normally does.
“It’s never going to be enough, of course,” Cecil said after sentencing. “I wish he didn’t get time served.” Cecil added he understood Sadler was required by law to give White this credit, and that he planned to attend White’s parole hearings.
White was sent back to the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver pending his transfer to the state Department of Corrections.