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Georges Township man sentenced 4 to 8 years in prison for child neglect

By Mark Hofmann mhofmann@heraldstandard.Com 2 min read

The Georges Township man who pleaded guilty to charges of severely neglecting his daughter will spend 4 to 8 years in state prison.

Keith Alan Kalbaugh, 27, was charged with aggravated assault after state police were called to his Hardin Hollow Road home on Jan. 10, 2022 because his 20-month-old daughter was found unresponsive.

Police said the child had no pulse, was “ice cold” to the touch, pale and dirty. Fayette EMS personnel immediately started life-saving measures while transporting the girl to WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital. Medical staff there treated the girl for about an hour, and she was then transported by medical helicopter to Ruby Memorial Hospital, where she was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Kalbaugh told police that he did not know the last time the girl was seen by a medical professional. Kalbaugh also told police that the girl sleeps and spends a majority of her time in a playpen in the living room while he stays in his bedroom playing online computer games, according to court documents.

The attending physician at Ruby Memorial in Morgantown, W. Va., told police that the toddler was severely underweight, adding that she should weigh about 29 pounds but was only 20 pounds.

Her electrolytes were also severely out of balance and she was in severe renal failure, according to court records, and a doctor treating the child opined the 20-month-old suffered from “severe neglect.”

Police said Kalbaugh’s home was found to be in a deplorable state with large amounts of debris and trash both inside and outside. The child’s playpen contained feces, decaying food, stains and dirt on the bottom. The living room had trash covering the floor, used diapers, feces, filled trash bags, toys, decayed food and other unidentifiable items.

At Kalbaugh’s sentencing Thursday, Fayette County Senior Judge John F. Wagner Jr. gave him credit for time served from Jan. 12, 2022 through his sentencing date. Wagner recommended that Kalbaugh be evaluated for any mental health conditions or illnesses, and that he receive the appropriate treatment.

On Aug. 7, Kalbaugh pleaded guilty generally to charges of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

The girl’s mother, Haylee Lynn Arnold, 25, of McClellandtown, was also charged in the case. Arnold pleaded no contest to similar charges and was sentenced in eight years of probation on March 20.

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