LOCKPORT – A Lockport man whose 3-month-old son was shaken and left permanently brain-damaged, including blindness in at least one eye, was arraigned Friday on an indictment that could land him behind bars for as long as 25 years.
Kenneth S. Lathrop Jr., 26, of Ruhlman Road, pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and two counts of reckless assault on a child.
Deputy District Attorney Holly E. Sloma said Lathrop admitted in a recorded police interview that he shook the victim, Nathan Lathrop, on Jan. 8.
“This defendant, and we have it in his own words on audio, admits to shaking his 3-month-old son,” Sloma told State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. “The prognosis for this little boy is dire. He is now permanently blind in at least one eye and has suffered massive global brain mass loss. He will never lead a normal life, according to all the experts.”
Since the shaken-baby incident, Lathrop also was arrested in the Genesee County Town of Oakfield on a charge of second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation. That played a role in Kloch’s decision to increase Lathrop’s bail from $5,000 to $20,000 and have him jailed in the meantime.
“Aggravated unlicensed operation indicates to me a disregard for the legal process,” Kloch said. The charge is filed against drivers whose licenses have already been suspended or revoked.
email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
Kenneth S. Lathrop Jr., 26, of Ruhlman Road, pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and two counts of reckless assault on a child.
Deputy District Attorney Holly E. Sloma said Lathrop admitted in a recorded police interview that he shook the victim, Nathan Lathrop, on Jan. 8.
“This defendant, and we have it in his own words on audio, admits to shaking his 3-month-old son,” Sloma told State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. “The prognosis for this little boy is dire. He is now permanently blind in at least one eye and has suffered massive global brain mass loss. He will never lead a normal life, according to all the experts.”
Since the shaken-baby incident, Lathrop also was arrested in the Genesee County Town of Oakfield on a charge of second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation. That played a role in Kloch’s decision to increase Lathrop’s bail from $5,000 to $20,000 and have him jailed in the meantime.
“Aggravated unlicensed operation indicates to me a disregard for the legal process,” Kloch said. The charge is filed against drivers whose licenses have already been suspended or revoked.
email: tprohaska@buffnews.com