The father of a three-year-old girl discovered gasping for air in a bug-infested apartment has been sentenced, Ohio prosecutors announced.
On January 29, a judge sentenced a 29-year-old Fairborn man to four years in prison, according to a news release from Greene County prosecutors. This comes after the father pleaded guilty in November to endangering a child and tampering with evidence in what prosecutors described as a “case of extreme child abuse.”
To protect the child’s identity, McClatchy News will not name the father. The man’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
According to prosecutors, police were called to the apartment on Jan. 8, 2024, after receiving a 911 call from someone reporting that a child was having difficulty breathing.
Prosecutors said that no one answered the door when first responders arrived. As officers searched for the toddler, they discovered the apartment to be “covered in filth” and had a “litany of insect infestations”.
Prosecutors said they discovered the girl lying on the ground next to the bed, wearing only a dirty diaper.
“Officers approached the child and determined, after the child gasped for air, that she was, in fact, alive,” according to the release.
The girl, covered in insect bites, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and later admitted to the intensive care unit. Doctors discovered she was “extremely malnourished” and weighed only 16 pounds, according to officials.
The child’s mother was arrested and admitted to calling 911 under a false name, according to prosecutors.
She also claimed to have only taken her child to the doctor once, according to prosecutors.
The 26-year-old mother was sentenced to seven to 10.5 years in prison on July 25 after pleading guilty to felonious assault, according to a Greene County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office press release.
The father did not have custody of the child, but he had been in the house several times before police discovered the state of the apartment, officials said.
“Any adult who entered that house and saw that child should have reported it immediately. “As the biological father, (the man) had both a moral and legal obligation to care for the victim and chose to do nothing,” prosecutors stated.
Prosecutors said the child had been hospitalized for several weeks.
Fairborn is approximately a 13-mile drive northeast of Dayton.
If you suspect a child has experienced, is currently experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect, your first step should be to contact the appropriate agency. The Child Welfare Information Gateway has a list of state agencies you can contact. Find help specific to your area here.
For additional help, the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline has professional crisis counselors available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in over 170 languages. All calls are confidential. The hotline offers crisis intervention, information, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources. You can call or text 1-800-422-4453 .
If you believe a child is in immediate danger, please call 911 for help.
