CHARLES BRADLEY - 3 yo (2009) - Severn (S of Baltimore) MD

An adult and child saw a Severn man punch his 3-year-old son in the
stomach, chest and face on several occasions last summer shortly before
the boy's death, according to prosecutors.
The boy's mother and grandfather told police after Charles Michael
Brandley died Aug. 12, 2009, that they also had noticed some unusual
bruises on the boy's legs.And doctors at Baltimore Washington
Medical Center treated Charles for some minor injuries before county
police launched an investigation into the death and how Andre Clay
Russell Jr. treated his son.But despite all of the different
incidents and injuries, prosecutors said this week that no one called
police or Child Protective Services to see if the boy was in danger."Very
unfortunately, most people are hesitant to report such incidents or
step in to try and stop the abuse," said State's Attorney Frank
Weathersbee, noting that prosecutors see this in a lot of child abuse
cases. "It's important for people to remember that if something doesn't
look right, if something makes you question the safety of a child, if
something sounds wrong, that it's OK to tell someone. It's OK to bring
it to someone's attention. It really could be the difference between
life and death."Elyn Jones, a spokeswoman for the state
Department of Human Resources, which oversees Child Protective Services,
seconded that."Reporting child abuse is everyone's
responsibility," she said.Russell, 28, of Tomlinson Court, was
charged last year with first-degree murder, first-degree child abuse
resulting in death, first- and second-degree assault and reckless
endangerment in Charles' death. He is being held at the Jessup
Correctional Institute pending a June 14 trial.The case landed in
court this week for a hearing on motions on whether the alleged
incidents of past abuse will be admissible at trial.The jury will
be allowed to hear about more than just what happened Aug. 7, when
prosecutors believe Russell beat his son to death. Over the objections
of Russell's defense attorney, Circuit Court Judge Paul A. Hackner on
Wednesday ruled that prosecutors may tell a jury about the allegations
of prior abuse and how Russell allegedly lied to cover up abuse.According
to charging documents, Russell told paramedics and county police that
he was home alone on Aug. 7, watching Charles, when the boy fell down a
flight of stairs.Charles was flown to Johns Hopkins Medical
Center in critical condition. He never regained consciousness and died
five days later.Hospital staff told officers they believed
Charles had been beaten. An autopsy found that he died of blunt-force
trauma and the case was ruled a homicide.
What police learned

According to prosecutors, two people saw Russell beat Charles and at least three
others saw the apparent results of previous abuse. From various
interviews, police learned:In April or May 2009, Charles' mother,
Orielle Baker, saw loop marks on the boy's legs. She confronted
Russell, who told her he beat Charles with a belt.In May 2009,
Russell's father, Andre Clay Russell Sr., saw his son repeatedly spank
the boy very hard for urinating on himself. Later, in June, he saw
unusual bruising on the boy's thighs that looked almost like burn marks.
Russell told his father the marks were from laser surgery.In
late June or early July, a family friend, Shelly Parker, saw Russell
punch his son several times in the chest and face. Later, on July 16 or
17, she saw Russell punch the boy so hard in the face he drew blood. And
in the last week of July, she saw Russell punch him in the chest, arms
and legs.On July 17, Russell took Charles to Baltimore Washington
Medical Center in Glen Burnie and told staff the boy had fallen down
some stairs. He was treated for some cuts and bruises and released.
After Charles' death, Russell told police he had taken the boy to St.
Agnes Hospital in Baltimore and that the injuries stemmed from a pit
bull attack.On Aug. 5, a 10-year-old girl living with Russell saw
him punch the boy several times in the stomach, causing him to hit his
head on a bed frame.
'Really essential'

While Russell was never charged or convicted of any crimes in connection with those
incidents, Rogers said they showed intent, motive and even malice on the
part of Russell.Jason Silverstein, Russell's defense attorney,
argued in court that the state is trying to get a jury to convict his
client because they don't like him - not because they believe he killed
his son."They want to try him on the prior act and they want to
try him on the homicide," said Silverstein, stressing that his client
was never charged in connection with any of the alleged incidents of
abuse. "They want them to think he is a bad guy so he must have done
this."Hackner, however, noted that Russell repeatedly lied to
cover up how Charles received his injuries."People don't try to
cover up something unless there is something to cover up," he said,
arguing that this showed a "consciousness of guilt."Silverstein
said Wednesday he did not know what defense he would put forward at
trial - whether Charles fell down a flight of stairs or whether someone
other than his client caused the boy's death.According to online
court records, Russell has a lengthy court record dating back to 1997,
with charges ranging from second-degree rape to assault, and from drug
possession to theft.He was last released from prison Nov. 18,
2008 - nine months before Charles died.Russell also is listed on
the Maryland Sex Offender Registry as a child sex offender. Details
about what landed him on the registry were unavailable. It is also
unclear if Russell was in violation of his probation by watching Charles.

RIP Charles, your safe now sweet baby.

Why oh why don't people pick up the phone and report this crap? It's so sad, nobody wants to get involved, I just don't understand.

alwaysbelieve wrote: RIP Charles, your safe now sweet baby.

Why oh why don't people pick up the phone and report this crap? It's so sad, nobody wants to get involved, I just don't understand.

They need to change the law to make it mandatory reporting for anyone. They could also change the law to outlaw smacking like we have done here, although I don't know how much good that will do to be honest, but at least people get the message that violence in any form against children is not tolerated by our society.

Over a few months last year, 3-year-old Charles "Mike Mike" Bradley
was beaten, shaken and punched so hard that he flew through the air in
what a longtime Anne Arundel County prosecutor said was the worst case
of fatal child abuse she has prosecuted in 24 years.Andre Clay
Russell Jr., 29, of Severn, admitted Wednesday that he inflicted the
fatal abuse last summer to the son of his former girlfriend. Russell
pleaded guilty before Judge Paul A. Hackner to child abuse resulting in
death and child abuse. Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen Rogers said
she intends to seek the maximum sentence, 55 years, for Russell. No
sentencing date has been scheduled.Rogers said the abuse was
noticed by several people between April or May 2009 and last August, but
it was not reported to authorities. Russell lied about the
child's injuries when questioned, sometimes giving different
explanations to different people for the same injury, according to
Rogers' courtroom statements.Russell's lawyer, Jason Silverstein,
did not contest the account, and declined to comment on the case. In
court, he said his client was diagnosed as depressed and was taking
medication.Rogers said that after reviewing records of the
injuries, Mitchell Goldstein, a child abuse expert at Johns
Hopkins Hospital, said the child's abdominal injuries were akin to
being run over by a car. A forensic examination revealed broken ribs,
damage to internal organs, a fresh, large wound to the back of the head,
and signs the child had been severely shaken — injuries that did not
fit Russell's explanations, Rogers said. Dr. Anna Rubio, an assistant
medical examiner, believed the "injuries to the child's head alone would
have been fatal," Rogers said.The prosecutor said Russell
initially told police the child had fallen. A few weeks later, he told
them that intruders seeking drugs took the boy from the house and left
him by the air conditioner. Russell and the child's mother,
Orielle Baker, had a relationship between November 2008 and May 2009.
According to Rogers, the mother said she recalled seeing bruises on the
boy's legs in April or May. Baker spent much of the ensuing
months hospitalized, and Russell moved with the child into the basement
of a Severn home, where a 10-year-old girl living in the upper part of
the house saw much of the abuse, Rogers said.On Aug. 7, Russell
told a neighbor that the boy was not breathing. An ambulance took him to
Anne Arundel Medical Center, and from there he was taken to Hopkins
Hospital, where he died five days later. Russell's prior
convictions include theft, burglary and possession of drugs with intent
to distribute, and he is listed on the state's Sex Offender Registry as a
child sex offender.The child's mother was not in court Wednesday
because she recently gave birth, but she is expected to attend the
sentencing.

Severn man gets 55 years in fatal child-abuse case


Several people witnessed abuse but did nothing to help


December 07, 2010|By Andrea F. Siegel, The Baltimore Sun

A Severn man who admitted that he fatally beat his former girlfriend's son while taking care of the toddler was sentenced Tuesday to 55 years in prison by a judge who called it "disgraceful" that no adult who saw or suspected abuse sought to rescue the boy.
"It may be this tragedy could have been avoided if some adult who saw this pattern of abuse had done something," Circuit Judge Paul A. Hackner said before sentencing Andre Clay Russell Jr. in the death of Charles "Mike Mike" Bradley. "And that makes this even more tragic because this wasn't a one-time incident that could not have been predicted."
Russell, 29, had pleaded guilty in June to child abuse resulting in death and child abuse in the killing of the 3-year-old. When the boy died in August 2009, physicians found serious wounds of various ages from his head to his legs, according to Anne Arundel County Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen Rogers.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-12-07/news/bs-md-ar-russell-20101207_1_fatal-child-abuse-case-fatal-abuse-severn-man