CORDELL LEE - 6 Weeks (2009) - Fort Wayne IN

Fort Wayne IN ---- At just 6 weeks old, Cordell Lee endured a handful of
broken bones – skull fracture, broken femur, broken wrist and others.Cordell
survived, but his father, 20-year-old Cortez Lee, is on trial this week
in Allen Superior Court, charged with neglect for failing to provide
adequate medical care for the infant.In January 2009, Lee took
the baby to Parkview Hospital’s emergency room for what was later found
to be a displaced femur fracture. While the baby was at the hospital,
doctors found a skull fracture, bleeding on the brain, and older
fractures in a wrist, foot, rib and shin, according to court documents.“Those
injuries,” Allen County Deputy Prosecutor Patricia Pikel told the jury,
“would have been obvious to a caretaker.”Lee’s defense attorney
Jeff Raff said Lee had little education and, at 19 years old at the
time, little experience in taking care of Cordell and his twin brother.
The babies’ mother was 17.When Department of Child Services
caseworker Faith Jackson interviewed Lee at the hospital that day, he
told her the baby’s mother had been sleeping with the infant the night
before.Lee said the baby had been fussier than normal for weeks
and attributed the skull fracture to his striking the infant in the head
with an elbow by accident, unaware the baby was behind him, Jackson
testified.A number of doctors testified as well, including Dr.
Antoinnette Laskey, an associate professor of pediatrics at Indiana
University’s School of Medicine and a pediatric child abuse expert.According
to Laskey, all of the baby’s injuries would have been evident to anyone
caring for him, especially the leg fracture.“It took a dramatic
amount of force to cause that injury,” she said, adding the injury may
have even been audible when it occurred.The skull fracture, which
ran along the side of Cordell’s head, could have been caused only by a
tremendous amount of force because infants’ skulls have some give to
them, Laskey said.“He had inflicted trauma,” she said, adding
there were no other medical causes for the fractures, such as a genetic
disorder or nutritional deficiency.“There was more than one event
where a caregiver caused him to have injuries,” Laskey said.The
trial is expected to conclude today. If convicted, Lee faces
between six and 20 years in prison.

Unrepentant dad gets 12 years for injuring 6-week-old son
Cortez Lee denied causing the multiple serious injuries his infant son suffered.



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By Aaron Organ
of The News-Sentinel

As he did through a jury trial last month, Cortez L. Lee maintained through his sentencing hearing Tuesday that he had nothing to do with the broken femur, skull fracture and other substantial injuries his 6-week-old son suffered in January 2009.

When pressed by defense attorney Jeffrey Raff, Lee did admit to Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull to making a mistake, but denied inflicting any injuries, saying he “don't know” how the young boy came to be injured under his care.

Gull appeared less than pleased with the lack of responsibility, calling the crime “awful” before ordering Lee to serve 12 years in prison – four more than prosecutors requested – and have no contact with the boy upon his release.

Lee indicated he intends to appeal the jury conviction and Gull's sentence.

The infant was taken to Parkview Hospital on Jan. 22, 2009, for a broken leg, but additional testing revealed he had a skull fracture with subdural hemorrhaging; a healing wrist injury; and possible rib, leg and foot fractures – injuries that doctors said at trial would have required intense force and pressure to create.

Lee told police he did no intentional harm to the boy, saying he accidentally struck the boy in the head with his elbow, likely causing the fracture. Doctors disagreed, saying that such a “skull fracture would have required a trauma that a reasonable caregiver should have been concerned enough to seek medical evaluation,” according to Lee's probable-cause affidavit.

Lee said the boy's fractured leg came from the boy's twin brother lying on it. Doctors disagreed with that, too, saying during trial that the break would have required a much stronger force than a 6-month-old infant could muster and that such a break would have been obvious to a parent.

Tuesday, Gull said, “That baby would have been pitifully crying – and you ignored it.”

Deputy Prosecutor Patricia Pikel said Lee “miserably failed” at protecting his children and at the responsibilities of parenthood.

Lee's girlfriend, the mother of his three children (all of whom are in foster care), described the 21-year-old Lee as a supportive father and provider who does not belong in jail. Police questioned the woman but did not charge her. During Lee's trial, Raff tried to shift much of the blame to her.

Lee's lack of a criminal record was mentioned but did not appear to factor in the sentencing as much as the nature of the injuries and the age of the baby.

“Six weeks old at the time of this event, Mr. Lee,” Gull said. “Six weeks old. There is nothing more helpless than that little 6-week-old baby. He was clearly no match for you.”

Gull said because Lee continued to deny any responsibility not just for the injuries, but also for failing to tend to them in an acceptable manner, he would not be a candidate for probation.

Lee sat blank-faced in the defendant's box after receiving the sentence, looking at his girlfriend, mother and brother in the gallery.
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20100714/NEWS/7140318