"Newborn John" PHILLIPS - 8 Weeks - Marion (N of Columbus) OH

An 8-week-old child was discharged from Nationwide Children's Hospital this week after spending more than a week in critical condition.
His father, Hank D. Phillips Sr., 27, of 1030 Congress St., remains incarcerated on a $100,000 bond after being indicted on felonious assault and child endangering charges this week. Both are second-degree felonies.Phillips was arrested Sept. 4 after authorities started investigating when his son was taken to Marion General Hospital for treatment by the child's mother.Until this Tuesday, when he was listed in fair condition, the child was listed in critical condition at Children's Hospital. A hospital spokeswoman said Friday he has been discharged.Phillips' indictment includes repeat violent offender specifications on both charges, which may be included when a defendant is charged with a first- or second-degree felony and has previously been convicted of similar charges.Court records show Phillips was convicted in Wayne County Superior Court in Indiana in October 2006 for neglect of a dependent child, resulting in serious harm. It was a class B felony, which Marion County Prosecutor Brent Yager said he believes would be similar to second-degree felonies in Ohio, crimes punishable by up to eight years in prison.In Phillips' case, two other counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with four years suspended and four of them on probation. He served 3 1/2 years in prison and continued parole in Ohio.Yager said his office is working to obtain details about Phillips conviction from the Wayne County, Indiana, prosecutor's office."But there's no doubt that he was charged with a comparable charge in Indiana," he said.Phillips told the child's mother and police that he had accidentally dropped the baby that day, and once earlier that week.This was the first of two suspected child abuse cases Marion police and Marion County Children Services have investigated in the past two weeks, both leading to assault and child endangering charges.