Waynesburg woman charged with assaulting 18-month-old stepson
A Waynesburg woman is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing next week after being accused of severely assaulting her 18-month-old stepson while the child was visiting in May and failing to seek medical attention.
Delaney Girvin, 24, is charged with aggravated assault, endangering welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person and harassment.
The child’s grandmother noticed a contusion on his head and a limp when Girvin dropped him off after a four-hour visit on May 19, according to her criminal complaint.
Girvin told the grandmother she hadn’t noticed any bruising, but that the child had fallen a couple of times while playing with her 1-year-old son outside, court documents stated.
The grandmother and mother, who believed the child might have suffered a concussion, took him to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., that night.
Hospital staff found a skull fracture as well as bruising on the child’s left chest wall, left knee, and each side of his mid-back and ribs, court documents said.
Pennsylvania State Police troopers received information from a pediatric child abuse and neglect specialist at Ruby suggesting the child had been abused, as Girvin could not account for the assortment of injuries, the complaint said.
The doctor was also concerned about the amount of bruising on the child’s torso, where it was less likely to have been caused by accident, according to the complaint.
Given the amount of pain the child would experience from a skull fracture, the child would likely have been crying, making it difficult to understand how Girvin could not suspect an injury, the doctor told investigators.
The child had been scheduled for a weekly custody visit with the boy’s father, Caleb Shriver, at his home on Whites Ridge Road. Girvin did not tell the boy’s mother and grandmother that Shriver was not at the home during the time of the visit, the complaint said. Girvin was not included in the custody order, according to court documents.
Charges were filed against Girvin Aug. 27, and Judge Thomas Ankrom set Girvin’s bail at $75,000. She is free after posting a self-surety bond.
Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15.