Sikeston, Mo., man gets 22 years for child abuse

BENTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston, Mo., man will serve more than two decades in prison for physically abusing his 4-month-old daughter.

Michael James Dement, 26, was sentenced to 22 years in prison after entering a guilty plea to felony first-degree assault. The charge stems from incidents that occurred between Jan. 27, 2010, and May 26, 2010, in Sikeston.

On May 26, 2010, officers with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety responded to Missouri Delta Medical Center after being notified of an infant with suspicious injuries, including broken bones and bleeding from the mouth. The infant was transferred to St. Louis Children's Hospital.

An investigation determined the child had broken bones, including fractures to her clavicles, a skull fracture, rib fractures, fractures of the femur and bruises throughout her body, Scott County assistant prosecuting attorney Amanda Oesch said.

Dement reportedly told Detective Chris Rataj that he was changing the child's diaper and stepped away for about five seconds to get a clean diaper and the child put a baby wipe in her mouth. Dement reportedly told Rataj he tried to pull it out but it was too deep, so he used tweezers to get the wipe out.

When confronted about the child's broken bones and other injuries, Dement admitted to breaking the infant's arm when he got mad because the baby would not stop crying, Oesch said in a news release. He also admitted to breaking the child's legs and described breaking her ribs, according to the release. Dement also said he got mad and picked the child up with her arms down against her side and squeezed her, then dropped her on a couch, from which she bounced off and landed on her head, the release said.

Dement entered his guilty plea July 2 before Judge Scott Horman.

Pertinent address:

Sikeston, Mo.