Father of comatose baby appears in Hillsboro Municipal Court

0

Bond was set Thursday at $50,000 for a Hillsboro man charged with felonious assault for allegedly shaking his month-old baby until she turned purpose and began to have seizures.

Martin Proctor, 27, appeared in Hillsboro Municipal Court on the assault charge, as well as for a probation violation. He was also ordered to have no contact with the infant. According to court records, defense attorney Lee Koogler was appointed to the case.

Additional charges may be filed against Proctor, who was arrested a few days after the Hillsboro Police Department received a report that the child was listed in critical condition at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital due to suspicious circumstances, according to a press release from Sgt. Steve Browder, HPD interim chief.

According to a court filing by Children Services in Highland County Juvenile Court, the baby was put in a medically-induced coma and placed on a ventilator after the incident. The baby’s condition was unknown as of Thursday afternoon.

In a hearing Wednesday, Judge Kevin Greer ordered the baby and her 8-year-old brother to be placed in the custody of Children Services, with Greer describing the incident as “horrific.”

According to a court filing, Proctor claimed he had been at home when he “tripped over a cord which caused him to drop (the baby). Father stated that (the baby) then began to cry, he could not get her to stop crying, he shook her and she went limp. Father reported that (the baby) then began crying so hard she turned purple and began to seize.”

However, according to the filing, there were statements from others who said they heard Proctor yelling and what sounded like him punching the walls. They said they heard him yell at the baby’s mother to “shut the (expletive) baby up” prior to her leaving for work.

Approximately two weeks prior, the older child was seen to have what appeared to be a black eye, and the father told people he had punched the child, according to the filing. Law enforcement “has an ongoing criminal investigation involving this family,” according to the filing.

The filing states that hospital staff were concerned about Proctor being present, and that he became “belligerent” with the nursing staff. The baby’s injuries are life-threatening, according to the filing.

A court spokesperson told The Times-Gazette Thursday that Proctor was on probation at the time of the incident after pleading guilty to an OVI violation from February of last year.

Proctor is currently incarcerated at the Highland County Jail, and will appear again in municipal court March 30 at 9:30 a.m.

Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570, or on Twitter @DavidWrighter.

Highland County Probate and Juvenile Judge Kevin Greer, right, presides over Wednesday’s hearing during which he granted a request by assistant prosecutor Jim Roeder and Wendy Setty of the Children Services agency, left, to place two children into the temporary custody of the agency, including a month-old baby who is in a medically-induced coma after allegedly being shaken by her father.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2017/03/web1_greer-proctor-hearing.jpgHighland County Probate and Juvenile Judge Kevin Greer, right, presides over Wednesday’s hearing during which he granted a request by assistant prosecutor Jim Roeder and Wendy Setty of the Children Services agency, left, to place two children into the temporary custody of the agency, including a month-old baby who is in a medically-induced coma after allegedly being shaken by her father.

Proctor
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2017/03/web1_martinproctormug.jpgProctor
Bond set at $50,000, court appoints Koogler

By David Wright

[email protected]

No posts to display