I was just going to put this as a comment on the thread for Aiden, but I can't find where it is in the forums. Here's a link for where he was front paged, and a little background, for those of you who don't want to click. It was written up by Impqueen in January.
http://www.dreamindemon.com/2008/01/...-at-parenting/
Tina Richards was arrested in July 2007 on cruelty to children and battery charges. Police reports show that baby Aiden, who was then only a few months old, had a bruised eye and black and blue marks on both arms. Richards pled guilty in November 2007 to both charges. An Effingham County judge sentenced her to five years probation and $1350 in fines. So what does DCAFS do? They give the baby back. Yeah.
As Tina’s mother Kim Kellam says, ” “I said this is a mistake, she’s going to do it again, this is a big mistake and here we are five weeks later maybe and now he’s fighting for his life.”Also, Tina Richards was pregnant with another child at the time of her arrest, the baby boy was born in March, I believe.According to Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie, Richards was home alone with her son last Monday. At about 3:00 p.m., her neighbor saw her running in the yard holding Aiden. The neighbor ran over to help, but “by then the baby was in bad shape”. The neighbor called 911 and asked them to “hurry, because the baby is about to stop breathing”. According to news sources, Aiden’s gasps for air are audible on the 911 tape. He had dried blood in his nose and was unable to breathe unless held upright when paramedics arrived.
Richards told deputies she was holding her son in the shower when she slipped and fell and landed on the baby. The problem with that story is that the baby was dry. There’s also this: “We recovered a sheet with a onesie, you know what I am talking about the little things babies wear, sewn into a bed sheet. We found yarn which appeared to be used to strap the child’s legs and duct tape.” The duct tape is currently being tested, but authorities believe it was used to cover Aiden’s mouth to muffle his cries.
posted this week on Aiden's Nana Joy's blog http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...ndID=325270153
The judge asked Richards if she was in fact guilty and she responded through her tears and sobs, "Yes, sir."
Tina Richards is going to spend most of her adult life behind bars. Today the 20-year-old admitted to abusing him in an Effingham County courtroom. She beat him, threw him in his crib, bit him and restrained him by sewing his onesie to a bed sheet.
Aiden was 10-months-old at the time. He's now almost 2-years-old and suffers from massive brain injuries.
"The prognosis, his long term prognosis is not good," said prosecutor Michael Muldrew. "We don't see him getting any better that he is now, it's a real tragic situation."
Today, judge Gates Peed sentenced Richards to 30 years in prison and another 10 years on probation. Richards is already serving 20 years for abusing Aiden the first time back in July 2007. She will serve both sentences at the same time and likely not get out of prison until the year 2038.
Muldrew admits the punishment does not fit the crime. "No, because nothing we can do in the judicial system will restore Aiden of the injuries he received," said Muldrew. "It's the maximum that we could give her, it may not be justice but it's the best we could do."Aiden Waller remains in foster care. As for his dad, Phillip Waller, he is still in jail. Prosecutors said Phillip Waller knew about the abuse but didn't report it. Muldrew said he is trying to work out a plea agreement with Waller's attorney.
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