Carbondale man accused of assaulting child faces more charges
Mar. 15—Investigators filed additional charges Wednesday against a 19-year-old Carbondale man accused of assaulting an 18-month-old child, leaving the toddler with fractured ribs and other injuries.
Magisterial District Judge Alyce Farrell increased Kassius Lovett Grant's bail from $250,000 to $400,000 during his arraignment on the new charges.
He remains in Lackawanna County Prison.
Carbondale police originally charged Grant, of 36 N. Church St., on March 2 with felony aggravated assault of a child less than 13.
In a new criminal complaint filed by Detective Tim Mackrell and Officer Robert Williams, police added two more felonies — aggravated assault of a child less than 6 and endangering the welfare of children.
Grant is accused of injuring the 18-month-old while babysitting the boy March 1 at a residence on Westgate Drive.
Police were called after the child's mother took him to Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale with what were described as extensive injuries. The boy was later flown to Geisinger Janet Weis Children's Hospital in Danville.
Grant, who was found hiding in a closet at a Belmont Street home the day after the incident, told police during an interview he was smoking marijuana and tried to get the child out of the room, according to the complaint. He shoved the toddler from behind, causing the boy to hit his face on a crib.
In the new complaint, police said the child was still a patient at the Danville hospital's pediatric intensive care unit as of March 8.
The boy's injuries included seven broken ribs, a possibly fractured vertebra, collapsed lungs, a laceration to the back of his neck and abrasions and swelling to his face, police said.
Grant's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. March 29.
Contact the writer:
dsingleton@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9132.
