"Toddler John" ACEVEDO - 18 Months - Pascagoula (E of Biloxi) MS

Pascagoula MS ---- A mother and her boyfriend are in custody in
Jackson County today, accused in a child abuse case involving the
woman’s 18-month-old son, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said.Dereck
Daniel Griffis, 29, is charged with felony child abuse, and the
infant’s mother, Amy Renee Acevedo, 23, is charged with child
deprivation of necessities. Griffis is accused of seriously injuring the
child, the sheriff said, and Acevedo did not seek medical attention for
the boy.

A man and his girlfriend were arrested late Monday night after Jackson
County Sheriff's investigators determined that he slammed her baby on
the floor and caused the 18-month-old numerous injuries, Sheriff Mike
Byrd said.

Dereck GriffisAmy Acevedo


"He beat this baby until she was black and blue," Byrd said.
Dereck Damiel Griffs, 29, was charged with felony child abuse, Byrd said.
"And because the mother didn't take her for medical
help or report it, we arrested her, too," Byrd said.
Amy Renee Acevedo, 23, was charged with child deprivation of necessaries
with substantial harm, Byrd said.
"The baby has black eyes, fluid on the brain and other injuries," Byrd said. "It was awful."
Byrd said the child was treated and released from Singing River
Hospital shortly after her grandparents were granted custody by a county judge.
Griffis' bail was set at $15,000 by a county judge, while Acevedo had bail set at $10,000.
According to state law, Griffis faces up to life in prison if found guilty, and Acevedo
could get as much as five years.

A Moss Point man accused of child abuse allegedly threw his
girlfriend’s 18-month-old daughter down on the floor face first on
multiple occasions because the infant grabbed his child’s hair, Jackson
County Sheriff Mike Byrd said.“The child had fluid built up
around the skull,” Byrd said Tuesday. “The child’s mother did not seek
medical help. The child is now home with the grandparents.”The
child’s mother, Amy Renee Acevedo, 23, is charged with child deprivation
of necessities, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Her boyfriend, Dereck Daniel Griffis, 29, is charged with felony
child abuse, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Jackson
County sheriff’s investigators, who assisted Pascagoula police in the
investigation, arrested the pair Tuesday.“It happened several
times that we know of,” Byrd said. “We got a confession.”The
alleged abuse occurred at Griffis’ home in the 10600 block of
Mississippi 613 at different times dating back to May 2.Acevedo
listed her home address in the 1600 block of Washington Avenue in
Pascagoula, though Byrd said she’d actually been living with Griffis.