Two Charged in Child Assaults

DAYTON - Levy W. Hel­gerson, 23, of Dayton, was arrested February 17 and charged with first degree as­sault of a child. He is alleged to have caused severe inju­ries to the 11-month-old son of a woman he was living with in Dayton. He is being held on $100,000 bond, and his arraignment is scheduled for March 6.

According to a report filed by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, emergency personnel were called to the home Helgerson shared with the baby's mother on December 28, 2013. The unconscious baby was trans­ported to the emergency room at Dayton General Hospital. Early the next day, the child was transported to Providence St. Mary's Medi­cal Center in Walla Walla. On December 30, he was transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

Reports from St. Mary's indicated that the baby "had a rash on his neck and a bruise on his right, exterior ear." Doctors felt the baby may have been choked. The report also said the baby had two areas in his brain that were bleeding.

After being examined in Spokane, the baby was found to have "suffered a tear in his left eye retina as a result of the injury."

The Sheriff's report stated that when an investigator from Washington State Child Protective Services inter­viewed the baby's mother, she said she had left the home briefly to visit a friend, and left the baby alone with Helgerson. The report also said "that Levy had admitted to her that he had thrown [the baby] from the foot of the bed towards the head of the bed in the master bedroom."

Reports from doctors and research by Sheriff's depu­ties indicate that the injuries suffered by the baby are consistent with what is com­monly known as "shaken baby syndrome."

According to reports, the baby has still not fully re­covered from his injuries, but is now in the custody of his paternal grandparents in Dayton.

Formal charges were filed against Helgerson on Febru­ary 17, and he was taken into custody later that day.