DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind. — A young boy will never be the same after his mother’s former boyfriend delayed getting him medical care for injuries he received as a 2-year-old in 2021, court documents suggest.
Charles Stacy, 34, was arrested a second time Friday in connection to the boy’s 2021 injuries. Stacy was also charged with neglect of a dependent in 2021.
On January 19th, 2021, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office was called to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital for a suspected child abuse case.
Police spoke to both Stacy and the boy’s mother, who Stacy was living with at the time.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the two lived together in Albany, Indiana, and Stacy would watch the boy while his mother worked.
During the afternoon of January 18, 2021, Stacy told police the 2-year-old began vomiting and continued to do so the rest of the day and into the night.
When the boy’s mother came home from work around 3 p.m., she told investigators Stacy would not let her touch the boy or be alone with him. She claimed every time the boy threw up and needed a bath, Stacy would do it and “made a point” to carry the boy everywhere with him, court documents allege.
“The only time that V#1 was out [of] Charles’ sight was when he was sleeping.”
Affidavit of probable cause
The boy’s mother told police she planned on staying home on January 19 to take care of him, but Stacy told her she needed to go to work since she was the only source of income.
The boy reportedly continued to vomit the rest of the day, and at one point, Stacy called the boy’s mother to tell her to bring home “bananas, soup, and PowerAde.”
When she returned home, Stacy said he called her into the bathroom because he had put the child in the tub, and his legs appeared blue.
An ambulance was called, though court documents show the boy’s mother and Stacy have contradicting statements about whether he wanted her to call for help or not.
The boy’s mother confided in investigators that it appeared that Stacy’s was hiding the fact that the child was injured.
Investigators have not indicated how the boy was injured, but Stacy’s two sons were also in the home. They said they saw their father spank the boy before.
According to court documents, the child, who is now 4, sustained catastrophic injuries that left him paralyzed, nonverbal, robbed him of his full sight. He uses a special wheelchair and a feeding tube through his stomach.
The boy was ultimately treated at Riley Hospital for Children for his injuries in 2021, and hospital staff diagnosed him with a perforated bowel, swelling and fluid in his stomach, and a compression fracture in part of his spine.
Stacy was originally arrested on January 19th, 2021 for neglect of a dependent.
He was arrested on an additional charge of neglect on September 9, 2022 due to the extent of the child’s injuries and the lifelong impact of the injuries.
The Star Press reported Stacy was released from the Delaware County Jail after posting a $50,000 bond.
