By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
One of society’s most defenseless members was defended on Tuesday in Crawford County Common Pleas Court. But a baby may never fully recover from traumatic injuries suffered while in her father’s care.
“This child trusted you, this child relied upon you, this child looked to you for protection,” Judge Sean Leuthold told 25-year-old Mitchell Lawhun. “It’s my job to protect everyone else and I’m going to do the right thing.”
In a plea agreement between Lawhun and the Crawford County Prosecutor’s Office, Lawhun pleaded no contest to second-degree felonious assault and second-degree child endangerment. A third count of the indictment issued by the Crawford County Grand Jury against Lawhun, first-degree felony attempted murder, was dismissed as part of the agreement.
Lawhun was sentenced to eight years in prison on the charge of felonious assault and seven years on the charge of endangering children. The sentences are to run consecutively for a total of 15 years and Lawhun will serve five years on mandatory post-release control after he is freed. The maximum possible prison sentence was eight years on both counts.
“These types of cases are horrible that anyone, let alone a father, would cause such injuries to a child that that child may not be able to live a normal life and that makes it difficult to talk about,” said Prosecutor Matt Crall.
Galion police were called by the Galion Community Hospital in March to investigate a case of possible child abuse. As detailed by Crall for the court record, Lawhun was the only one at home with the child, then 4-months old, at the time the baby was injured.
The baby had been brought to the emergency room by the mother after she returned home and found her fussing and she was unable to calm the infant. The hospital diagnosed the child’s symptoms as acute brain hemorrhaging consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
The baby was then flown to Children’s Hospital in Columbus where injuries consisting of a fractured skull and a broken arm were confirmed. Crall entered photos of the baby while she was in the hospital into evidence.
During Lawhun’s initial appearance in Crawford County Municipal Court in which he was formally charged with felonious assault, bond was set at $2 million.
At issue were several different statements Lawhun gave police concerning the injuries to the child, none of which the doctors said corresponded with the types of injuries she suffered. Lawhun’s statements included the child sleeping on Lawhun’s stomach, sitting in a bouncy chair when a bottle became lodged in it, and that he was vacuuming and dropped her.
“Sir, it was an accident. I dropped her cleaning,” Lawhun pleaded with Judge Shane Leuthold. “I’ll do whatever I have to just to prove I didn’t do it.”
Instead, Lawhun pleaded no contest to two of the three charges. The no contest pleas keep avenues of appeal open that would have otherwise been closed to Lawhun had he pleaded guilty.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Crall detailed Lawhun’s criminal record which include two misdemeanor domestic violence convictions and an open OVI charge. Lawhun’s attorney, Brad Starkey, pointed out that Lawhun has no prior convictions involving children, and the domestic violence convictions were for threats, not physical contact.
Lawhun himself made no statement in court. Judge Sean Leuthold, in preparing to formally sentence Lawhun, called the crimes both heinous and horrendous.
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