Bauman receives maximum sentence in child abuse case

After pleading guilty to one count of assault of a child in the second degree, Adams County Superior Court Judge Steve Dixon sentenced Dylan Bauman to 10 years with the Department of Corrections and 18 months community custody on Nov. 9.

Prosecuting Attorney Stacie Summerhill presented the case on behalf of the State, and began by saying both parties had agreed on a sentence above the standard range in the interest of justice. Summerhill stated the State recommended the statutory maximum of 120 months for Bauman.

Prior to his conviction for child abuse, Bauman, 24, has been convicted of incest in the second degree, rape in the third degree and a violation of a protection order. While this abuse case was pending, Bauman also was convicted of theft in the second degree.

Summerhill added he is also facing charges of failing to register as a sex offender.

On Nov. 7, 2014, emergency personnel responded to a call of a seven-week-old baby who was not breathing. After being administered CPR and transported to East Adams Rural Hospital, the medical case that followed resulted into an investigation of the father, Bauman.

The infant, Bentley Bauman, appeared to have suffered from abusive head trauma, or what is commonly known as shaken baby syndrome. Bauman was then arrested for assault of a child in the first degree.

The yearlong case visibly affected those involved in the incident, and Bauman’s past offenses contributed to numerous law enforcement personnel attending the sentencing.

During the hearing, Summerhill presented the medical findings accumulated during the case. She spoke with multiple doctors to gain an understanding of the shaken baby syndrome phenomenon and how it affected the child involved.

“The general consensus after I went through all of the evidence in this case with these doctors is that this was one of the most severe and egregious shaken baby cases that didn’t result in death that they had ever seen,” Summerhill explained.

Summerhill explained there are four extremes head trauma can cause. In this case, she stated medical professionals proved the shaking occurred multiple times. A tap of the fluid in Bentley’s brain displayed blood of different ages, which leads to the conclusion the incident occurred on various occasions, but the last one proved nearly fatal.

Pediatric Specialist Dr. Michelle Messer at Sacred Heart Medical Center had explained to Summerhill most shaken baby incidents occur as an effort to quiet a crying infant. It can prove to be effective, causing the events to occur multiple times to stop the disruption.

Messer summarized the shaking effectively gives the infant a concussion, causing the child’s brain to naturally try to shut off in an effort to heal itself. Multiple concussions build upon each other, and a final violent shaking episode leads to a point where the brain cannot heal itself.

“That’s one of the reasons why little Bentley Baumann nearly died on this last episode of shaking,” Summerhill stated.

Summerhill also presented medical evidence when the brain is jolted within the skull, the bridging veins providing oxygen to the brain can rupture, causing the space between the brain and skull to fill with blood.

The third injury associated with violent shaking is tissue damage, an injury that occurs during any sort of impact trauma. The brain tissue is fragile and it is difficult to heal, which is another cause for the near-death incident of the infant.

Summerhill said the fourth injury is damage to the central root nerves; the nerves at the base of the skull that control the diaphragm. The torque on the nerves during a shaking incident creates tension and causes the brain to swell.

“It can only swell downward, which puts a lot of pressure on the central root nerves and so it damages them. That is the most likely cause of why Bentley Bauman stopped breathing,” Summerhill said.

Along with the brain trauma, Summerhill reported the infant also suffered from multiple other injuries.

Upon admittance to the Intensive Care Unit, doctors discovered Bentley had rib fractures from 7-10 days prior. Summerhill explained those rib fractures can occur from the compression of the body while it is rapidly moved back and forth.

The infant also had bucket handle fractures on the long bone of his leg. Summerhill said these fractures occur because infants do not have muscle definition, and the violent shaking causes the tendons connecting the tissue to the bones starts to pull away from the bone.

This causes small portions of the bone to be pulled away from the child’s legs, Summerhill said.

At the time of his hospital admittance, he also had retinal hemorrhaging in one eye, Summerhill added.

Addressing Bauman’s past criminal history, Summerhill said it is shocking because of the list of crimes in his 24 years.

“Your honor, the nicest way I can think to put this is that he is a blight on this community,” Summerhill said while addressing Judge Dixon.

Summerhill asked Dixon to consider the highest range of sentencing in the interest of justice. With multiple injuries reported with the child, she stated it should be an exceptional sentence.

“But the one that I think that most justifies an exceptional sentence, and especially one at the top of the statutory range, is the fact that this child is a particularly vulnerable victim,” Summerhill stated.

While the child involved in the case was an infant, assault of a child domestic violence charges can include any child under the age of 13.

Bentley’s current prognosis is bleak, Summerhill stated.

Pediatric Neurlogist Wendy Eastman is treating Bentley, and she informed Summerhill the severe injuries stopped his development at seven weeks old.

While his body will continue to grow, his brain will remain the same size, likely resulting in brain surgery in the future. He also is mostly paralyzed on his left side, unable to see and potentially has limited hearing.

Summerhill stated Bentley fortunately is with a foster parent who takes exceptional care of the boy, despite his lack of basic functions.

Child Protection Services Social Worker Brandy West also testified on behalf of the prosecution. She presented the court with a photo of a lip injury the infant had sustained a month prior to the severe incident. Summerhill said a bottle being forcibly placed in the child’s mouth caused the injury.

Defense Attorney Mike Morgan stated the child had been taken to the doctor for this injury and it had been determined it occurred from an allergy to the bottle.

Morgan addressed the court, stating the only reason for the resolution occurred because of a plea offer. Bauman has maintained his innocence throughout the case.

While the medical evidence presented by Summerhill is compelling, Morgan said the defense retained a medical expert who said otherwise. Morgan said the medical official concluded the mechanism was not shaken baby, a consistent statement Bauman had claimed from the beginning.

“Even though Dylan, while he has his problems and has issues, he does have empathy; he does have emotions; he does care. And he’s really struggled throughout this case,” Morgan said.

Morgan said Bauman’s time in Ritzville did not provide him with adequate opportunities or resources to help him reestablish himself within the community. Morgan argued the court needs to consider his future, while realizing he has served a minimal amount of time in custody.

“My reason for bringing that up is this is going to be new for Dylan. I think what’s going to matter is the next few months when he’s exposed to a population and environment that he’s never seen before,” Morgan said.

Bauman’s mother, Kellie Ottmar, also testified on behalf of the defense.

“I lost him to drug addiction and I’m losing him to this… He’s had traumatic things happen to him as well, and I lost him then. I’ve seen him be a phenomenal father, I’ve never seen anything other,” Ottmar said.

Bauman also has a two-year-old daughter who lives with her mother, and no incidents of child abuse have been reported with the child.

Bauman also addressed the court about his past convictions and struggles with drug addiction during a tearful statement.

“I got into the wrong crowd. It altered my decisions in life and what I needed to make important decisions for. It made it difficult, almost impossible for me to succeed the right way…I just want good for my future and I’m ready to make any decisions that I need to make and I need to face.”

“I want to be a good person,” Bauman said. “I don’t have anybody to blame but myself. So for all the wrong I’ve done in my life I’m ready to accept it and I’m ready to do better.”

When it came time for sentencing, Dixon said while he hopes Bauman can find counseling services and assistance in prison, Bauman poses a threat to vulnerable victims and the only option is to maximize the time Bauman cannot have contact with children.

“The job for all of us in the criminal justice system is to fashion the sentence that most appropriately meets the needs of the community, the needs of the defendant, the needs of the victim,” Dixon stated.

Due to the extent of the injuries and the current prognosis of the child, Dixon stated this act is the very next thing to a negligent homicide case.

Because of this, Dixon sentenced Bauman to 120 months in prison and 18 months of community custody, as well as a no-contact order with Bentley for 10 years.