Injured boy traumatized, dad says

The case of a  3-year-old hurt in January has been bound over to a grand jury.

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By Dave Greber, Staff Writer Updated 2:45 PM Thursday, February 11, 2010

WEST CHESTER TWP. — A 3-year-old boy who suffered injuries to his skull and genitals last month, allegedly at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend, is continuing to recover, but he won’t let his parents out of his sight, his father said Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Jason Durham said his son, Jayson, now requires counseling and is prohibited from being active as a result of the injuries: a skull fracture, bruises to his face, ears, feet and genitals and bite marks on his ankles. He was treated for his injuries Jan. 19. “He’s been having nightmares,” he said.

West Chester police arrested Chad Kelsay, 24, of 1092 Princeton Square in West Chester Twp. on Jan. 22 with third-degree felony child endangering. Police were called to investigate after the boy was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Liberty Campus.

Kelsay remains free on his own recognizance.

Butler County Area III Court Judge Dan Haughey on Tuesday, Feb. 9, determined there was enough evidence to bind the case over to a county grand jury following a hearing, during which additional testimony was provided by Jayson’s mother and a local detective investigating the injuries.

The mother, Heather Durham, said she had been dating Kelsay since last summer.

She testified Tuesday her son had the typical marks of an active, fair-skinned 3-year-old who bruises easily. But things were different that day.

“The bruises that he acquired on the 19th, are way, way more severe than I’ve ever seen,” she told the court.

Durham said she was especially concerned by the injuries to her son’s genitals.

Kelsay’s attorney, Mark Hardig of Hamilton, asked Durham if it was possible the boy injured himself during potty training.

West Chester police Detective David Mize testified that Kelsay’s statements to family members and police about the events leading up to the injuries didn’t match up.

Mize said Kelsay told him he was giving the boy a bath after he wet his pants. When he went to wash the boy’s head, Kelsay told Mize the child “freaked out.” When Kelsay took him out of the tub, the boy fell.

“The charges were filed because it’s not likely these injures that he sustained were caused by a standing fall, as Mr. Kelsay had indicated,” Mize testified.

Hardig disagreed, saying there was little evidence to support the police department’s position.

“Apparently, the child was injured, but there’s no evidence at all that he (Kelsay) created the substantial risk of harm,” Hardig said, referring to the child endangering statute. “Sometimes accidents do happen.”

Mize said Kelsay told him the bite marks on the boy’s ankles were the result “of a game they played.”

Police have said they suspect the child had been injured before he was taken to the hospital last month.

“This is very serious,” Jason Durham said after the hearing. “I don’t want this being looked past. It could have easily been someone else’s kid.”

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