"This Boy ... Was Tortured" - Toddler's Parents Arrested

[odette]

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.../71002007/1002

[odette]

Louisiana Police Officer Says 2-Year-Old Was Tortured

FOX NEWS (AP) Tuesday, October 02, 2007

MONROE, La. — The 2-year-old's injuries were so severe that a Monroe police officer said, "This boy wasn't abused, he was tortured."

The boy, whose name was not released, has been in the pediatric intensive care unit at St. Francis Medical Center since Sunday, though his injuries may have occurred five days earlier, Maj. Don Bartley said Monday.

He was in stable condition Tuesday, the hospital reported.

Bartley said the boy's parents, Jessica M. "Nikki" Dixon, 24, and Rodney T. "Big Daddy" Webster, 18, were held in lieu of $10,000 bond after being booked with second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, Bartley said. Deputies at the jail said they remained in custody Tuesday.

Bartley said the child was beaten so severely that it split his spleen and cut his liver. He also had a broken left arm, bruised intestine, air in his stomach and pelvis; and severe bruises on his face, back and buttocks.

The boy's 4-year-old sister told police she saw Webster punch and kick him and Dixon hit him with a coat hanger, according to the arrest reports.

Dixon took the boy to LSU Health Sciences Center-Monroe on Saturday, but left before a doctor saw him, police said. His grandmother took him to St. Francis on Sunday. Webster and Dixon were arrested that night.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298958,00.html

[odette]

2-year-old boy remains in critical condition

-- Child's mother, her boyfriend are being held --

shreveporttimes.com - By Sharryn Harvey - October 2, 2007

MONROE -- A 2-year-old boy was still hanging on to life and his mother and her boyfriend remained in jail Tuesday in a case in which police say the toddler was “tortured.”

Monroe residents Jessica M. “Nikki” Dixon, 24, of the 1100 block of Richwood Road, and Rodney T. “Big Daddy” Webster, 18, of the 600 block of South Seventh Street each faces a charge of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile.

They were arrested Sunday night after the child’s grandmother called Monroe police from St. Francis North Hospital, where she had taken him.

The couple's bonds are set at $10,000 each. Dixon also had an outstanding warrant for failing to pay $248.50 in fines.

The boy’s 4-year-old sister told Monroe police that Webster, whom police said is not the children’s father and just turned 18 on Tuesday, allegedly punched and kicked the boy while baby sitting Sept. 25 while Dixon was at work.

Dixon saw the bruises on the boy’s face when she returned home, and his face had become swollen by the next day, the police report states.

The girl also told police Dixon had hit the boy with a coat hanger, according to the report.

Dixon reportedly took the boy to LSU Health Sciences Center-Monroe on Saturday, but left before seeing a doctor, the report says.

The toddler’s grandmother took him Sunday to St. Francis North, where he remained in critical condition Tuesday in the hospital's pediatric intensive-care unit.

“He’s not doing better and he’s not doing worse,” Monroe police Maj. Don Bartley said of the boy.

The child had a lacerated liver, a fractured spleen, air in his stomach and pelvic area, a bruised intestine and a fractured left arm. The boy also had severe bruising on his face, back and buttocks, Bartley said.

2-year-old boy remains in critical condition

[kurro07]

Originally Posted by odette

"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.

If I had a child before I was ready and didn't know how to take care of it I would be calling my mom all the time and crying a lot because I was getting stressed out. NEVER would it cross my mind to hurt the child.