The 20-year-old father of a then 22-month-old girl — Aaron Wayne Degrise — has accepted a plea bargain and has been found guilty of five felony counts of child abuse and mayhem. (File Photo)
By G.T. Houts
San Bernardino, CA – Aaron Wayne Degrise, a 20-year-old Big Bear father, accepted a plea bargain Monday (July 28) and was found guilty of five felony child abuse and mayhem charges. A felony count of torture was dropped.
Judge Michael Dest presided over what was to be a preliminary hearing when the change of plea was entered by Degrise’s attorney, Christopher Dorado.
FELONY COUNTS
Degrise’s plea was certified by Judge Dest and includes two counts of willful cruelty to a child with possibly injury or death, mayhem and two counts of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.
A single count of torture was dismissed along with a false imprisonment count.
The court found that the plea was based on fact and filed the plea bargain.
SENTENCING
Judge Dest has set Degrise’s sentencing for 8:30 a.m. on September 28 in Department S-14.
Degrise remains in custody at the West Valley Detention Center.
THE INCIDENT
Investigators from the Big Bear Sheriff’s Department reported that the teenage parents of the young girl were arrested in July 2013 after a hospital examination revealed that the female victim had extensive injuries, suspected of being caused by abuse.
Deputies responded to Bear Valley Community Hospital on Tuesday, July 9, 2013, related to the infant, who had injuries to her head and body. The child was transported to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital for additional treatment. Medical examinations by LLUCH forensic pediatricians revealed the alleged abuse.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Crimes Against Children detail assumed the investigation, leading to the arrest of the victim’s parents — Degrise (then 19) and the unidentified 17-year-old mother, according to a media release issued July 11, 2013. Her case is being handled by the Juvenile Court.
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