Witness testifies at bond hearing in child abuse case
photo by Claire Henley Miller
In an effort to lower the $250,000 bond for 20-year-old Lyndsey Cheyenne Brock, Attorney John Brooks said Tuesday that Ms. Brock did not assault a one-year-old, but tried to calm the child down during an alleged violent temper tantrum by the child.
Attorney Brooks sought to have Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz lower the bond to $10,000. He did lower the bond, but not as much as the defense wanted.
Ms. Brock was arrested Jan. 11 on charges of aggravated child abuse after allegedly assaulting her husband’s one-year-old to the point the child needed emergency care.
Ms. Brock and her husband, Robert Brock, were not married at the time of the incident, which took place at the husband’s home in Soddy Daisy on Sept. 16, 2015.
According to County Investigator Mickey Rountree, approximately 10 to 20 minutes after Mr. Brock left for work on the morning of Sept. 16, Ms. Brock made a call to 911 regarding the injured state of the child.
On that day Investigator Rountree responded to Children’s Hospital, where the child had been transported by ambulance. He described to prosecutors that the child had multiple injuries to the face, a busted lip, ear swelling, and a bruised knuckle.
Medical personnel told Investigator Rountree the child’s injuries were “highly indicative of non-accidental trauma.”
The attending Emergency Room doctor told the investigator the child also sustained a skull fracture in the back of his head and multiple bleeds on the brain. The doctor indicated the child experienced seizures caused by his injuries.
Attorney Brooks defended Ms. Brock by saying the injuries happened while she was caring for the child after her then-boyfriend left for work. He said Ms. Brock, who is not the child’s biological mother, said the child had a temper tantrum and fell down on the floor repeatedly. She said she splashed water on him to get him to stop, but he kept throwing a tantrum. When the child stopped breathing, Ms. Brock said she called 911.
Investigator Rountree confirmed that Ms. Brock and the child were the only ones in and out of the house during the time of the incident. The investigator took an account from Ms. Brock on how the child sustained his injuries. He then brought the photos he took of the child in the hospital and the medical report to Dr. Annamaria Church, who specializes in child abuse victims at Children's Hospital.
Dr. Church maintained that the child did not inflict his injuries upon himself.
Interviews were conducted and investigators found the child had never been observed to have a tantrum on the level Ms. Brock described, it was stated.
During the three-month investigation, Ms. Brock indicated she and her boyfriend were looking to get married and have children of their own.
When Investigator Rountree took steps to arrest Ms. Brock in January, he found she had changed her address and last name on her driver’s license.
According to Ms. Brock’s father, who testified Tuesday, she had “been in no trouble before this.” The father said his daughter was “very responsible.” She was enrolled in Virginia College’s pharmaceutical technical program at the time of the incident, and she was eligible to return.
However, Ms. Brock’s family could not afford the $250,000 bond. But the $10,000 bond they could manage.
“She has all her family here. She’s always been a good child,” her father said.
By decreasing the bond to where the parents could pay it, prosecutors feared Ms. Brock would contemplate running between now and the time of her trial.
“I don’t think there’s any chance that she won’t be present in court,” attorney Brooks said.
Ms. Brock’s mother testified that two days after Ms. Brock went to the Silverdale Workhouse, five to six girls attacked her, leaving her with a black eye, bruises, and loose teeth. Ms. Brock called her mother and said she was “frightened,” and that she knew she could be in danger based on the nature of the charge against her.
Judge Greenholtz said aggravated child abuse was a “class A felony” with a minimum sentence of 15 years served at 100 percent.
Prosecutor Leslie Longshore said, “I believe the evidence is strong that she injured this baby to where his life was in danger.”
She said the $250,000 bond was necessary and appropriate.
Judge Greenholtz said the court found it extremely unlikely the one-year-old inflicted such severe injuries upon himself. The likeliness of Ms. Brock’s conviction looked high, he said.
He lowered the bond to $99,000, with the condition that Ms. Brock would be on house arrest with a GPS to monitor her once the bond was paid.