Grovetown father pleads guilty to reduced child abuse charge
A Grovetown man suspected of causing his infant son permanent brain damage a decade ago pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced child abuse charge.
Larry C. Overton, 48, pleaded guilty in Columbia County Superior Court to a charge of cruelty to children in the second degree, reduced from first degree. Chief Judge James G. Blanchard Jr. accepted the plea negotiation and imposed a 10-year probation sentence under the First Offender Act.
After all these years, no one can prove exactly how the 5-month-old victim was injured Oct. 5, 2011, said Assistant District Attorney Kevin Majeska. The doctor who treated the victim the day he was taken to the hospital told sheriff's investigators the injuries were not consistent with Overton's claim he tripped while carrying the baby in a car seat, which kept the baby's head from hitting the floor, Majeska said.
District Attorney Bobby Christine told The Augusta Chronicle that Overton was initially indicted in 2011, but he was re-indicted in 2017, so that the specific charge he faced included the accusation Overton caused the injury by unknown means.
"It was time to resolve this case," Christine said. The charge Overton pleaded guilty to was child abuse by neglect, with a recommendation for probation. That will mean Overton is under supervision for the next 10 years, he said. The age of the case demanded a resolution, he said. "The victim deserves that and so does the defendant."
Defense attorney Isabella Levy told the judge that it wasn't clear who caused the baby's injuries. The victim's mother, Natascha R. Shinn, admitted she had hit Overton while he was holding the baby, Levy said.
Overton is the only parent who has taken care of the victim over the years, Levy said. He lives with Overton and his mother, Levy said.
In 2011, the baby was diagnosed with brain injuries and a skull fracture, Majeska said during Friday's sentencing hearing. The injury has led to cerebral palsy.
Shinn was also indicted on a charge of cruelty to children in the first degree. She has pleaded not guilty and the charge is pending.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Charge reduced for Columbia County father in decade-old child abuse
