CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A Concord man accused of severely beating his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter remains held on $500,000 bail after a judge who heard details of the injuries refused to lower the amount.
Scott Diberto, 25, was charged with assault and child endangerment Feb. 12. A judge denied his attorney’s request Thursday to lower his bail to $5,000 after prosecutors described the baby’s injuries, the Concord Monitor reported (https://bit.ly/1fwcucE).
Deputy County Attorney Catherine Ruffle said the 14-month-old girl is blind and incapable of purposeful movement. Doctors treating the child found injuries from multiple occasions, including blows to the head and attempted suffocation or smothering.
“This is not just a case of abuse, but a case of extreme abuse,” she said.
Police say Diberto was babysitting the child alone on Jan. 26 and at one point sent the baby’s mother a text message saying she had fallen on a toy box but was OK. “A trooper,” he wrote, according to court documents. A neighbor told police he heard banging in the apartment during the time Diberto was alone with the child. The girl’s mother called for help around midnight after finding the girl bruised and limp.
In court documents, police say Diberto gave conflicting statements, at first saying the girl fell off the toy box or down the stairs, and later suggesting an intruder had attacked her when he went out to buy cigarettes.
His attorney did not address the charges at the bail hearing but said he has lived in the state his entire life and would likely return to family in Laconia if released. The prosecutor said he has a history of jumping bail and failing to report for court appointments.
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Information from: Concord Monitor, https://www.cmonitor.com
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