odette
10-03-2007, 10:26 AM
Monroe toddler's parents arrested; 'this boy ... was tortured'
thetowntalk.com - By Sharryn Harvey - Wednesday, October 3, 2007
A 2-year-old boy is in critical condition at a local hospital, and his mother and her boyfriend were arrested on suspicion of beating him, according to Monroe police.
Jessica M. "Nikki" Dixon, 24, 1101 Richwood Road No. 2 Apt. 31, and Rodney T. "Big Daddy" Webster, 18, 609 S. Seventh St., both of Monroe, were arrested and charged with second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, Maj. Don Bartley said.
If the child dies, charges might be upgraded.
The toddler was brought into St. Francis North Hospital with a lacerated liver, a fractured spleen, air in his stomach, air in his pelvic, bruised intestine and a fractured left arm. The boy also had severe bruising on his face, back and buttocks, Bartley said.
"This boy wasn't abused, he was tortured," Bartley said.
The injuries may have happened Tuesday, Bartley said.
His 4-year-old sister told police she saw Webster punch and kick him and that Dixon also hit him with a coat hanger, according to the arrest reports.
Dixon took the boy Saturday to LSU Health Sciences Center-Monroe for treatment, but left before he was seen by anyone.
His grandmother took him to St. Francis on Sunday, where he was placed in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.
Webster was arrested at his home Sunday night, and Dixon was brought to the police department the same night and arrested there.
Caroline Cascio, director of professional services with The Wellspring, said in cases of reported abuse, it is generally parents and caregivers who do it.
"Oftentimes, it's parents who aren't ready to be parents or parents who don't know how to take care of a child," Cascio said.
Cascio said several factors can play into abuse, such as poverty, family history of abuse, domestic violence and stress.
Cascio said it is also possible for only one child to be abused when there is more than one child in the house.
"I think all children in the household will be traumatized," Cascio said. "Age could play a factor and so could gender depending on the type of abuse."
Bond for Dixon and Webster was set at $10,000 each.
http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071002/NEWS01/71002007/1002
thetowntalk.com - By Sharryn Harvey - Wednesday, October 3, 2007
A 2-year-old boy is in critical condition at a local hospital, and his mother and her boyfriend were arrested on suspicion of beating him, according to Monroe police.
Jessica M. "Nikki" Dixon, 24, 1101 Richwood Road No. 2 Apt. 31, and Rodney T. "Big Daddy" Webster, 18, 609 S. Seventh St., both of Monroe, were arrested and charged with second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, Maj. Don Bartley said.
If the child dies, charges might be upgraded.
The toddler was brought into St. Francis North Hospital with a lacerated liver, a fractured spleen, air in his stomach, air in his pelvic, bruised intestine and a fractured left arm. The boy also had severe bruising on his face, back and buttocks, Bartley said.
"This boy wasn't abused, he was tortured," Bartley said.
The injuries may have happened Tuesday, Bartley said.
His 4-year-old sister told police she saw Webster punch and kick him and that Dixon also hit him with a coat hanger, according to the arrest reports.
Dixon took the boy Saturday to LSU Health Sciences Center-Monroe for treatment, but left before he was seen by anyone.
His grandmother took him to St. Francis on Sunday, where he was placed in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.
Webster was arrested at his home Sunday night, and Dixon was brought to the police department the same night and arrested there.
Caroline Cascio, director of professional services with The Wellspring, said in cases of reported abuse, it is generally parents and caregivers who do it.
"Oftentimes, it's parents who aren't ready to be parents or parents who don't know how to take care of a child," Cascio said.
Cascio said several factors can play into abuse, such as poverty, family history of abuse, domestic violence and stress.
Cascio said it is also possible for only one child to be abused when there is more than one child in the house.
"I think all children in the household will be traumatized," Cascio said. "Age could play a factor and so could gender depending on the type of abuse."
Bond for Dixon and Webster was set at $10,000 each.
http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071002/NEWS01/71002007/1002