Man suspected of child abuse to remain in jail
CHICORA — A Petrolia man accused of child abuse will remain behind bars on a $1 million bond.
District Judge Lewis Stoughton also moved the case against Dakota Anthony, 20, to Butler County court. He faces three felony counts of aggravated assault and one felony count of endangering the welfare of a child, along with other lesser charges.
Anthony was arrested in December for allegedly assaulting his live-in girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter.
Anthony appeared in court through a live video feed that allowed him to see both his parents and his defense attorney, Robert Disney.
All of them remained silent as Stoughton upheld the $1 million bond, despite Disney's argument for a reduction to $10,000.
Stoughton said Anthony was a danger to society.
“There's no way I'm going to lower that bond to $10,000,” the district judge said.
Disney also argued for the dismissal of the case, which also failed.
“Hearsay alone cannot establish a prima facie case,” said Disney, citing a state Supreme Court ruling in July.
Assistant District Attorney David Beichner rebutted the claim.
“I don't believe we've provided solely hearsay evidence today,” Beichner said.
The prosecution called on state troopers Max DeLuca and Justin Werner to testify at the hearing.
DeLuca reviewed information about the initial call and what was found during a search warrant of the home. Multiple interviews and even camera footage showed Anthony was alone in the home with the victim at the time of the incident, DeLuca said.
Photographs taken during a warranted search of the home showed a 34-inch changing table, clothing and stuffed animals strewn about the floor and a section of carpet and the material underneath it.
“It's thin carpet and thin padding,” he said.
According to court documents, in a voluntary interview after the incident, Anthony told police the victim fell off the changing table and became nonresponsive.
The child was later taken by medical helicopter to UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, where Werner testified he saw the then-unresponsive victim and her doctors.
“She was just returned from surgery,” he recalled in court.
Werner reviewed with the court updates and opinions he received from doctors treating the victim, who suffered a large skull fracture, multiple brain bleeds and swelling of the brain.
Disney objected to this part of testimony because he believed it to be hearsay. During his arguments for the case's dismissal, he said the doctors should have testified in court.
According to Werner, the doctors believed the victim's injuries were inconsistent with Anthony's story and closely resembled injuries seen in victims of “high-speed car accidents.”
DeLuca also testified on the victim's status.
“I believe the child was supposed to be released today (Tuesday),” DeLuca said.
He said the victim will likely have long-term implications from her injuries, and she is expected to need occupational, physical and speech therapy to help her recover.
