Hagerstown man charged with child abuse held on $1 million bond

The prognosis is "grave" for a 9-year-old Hagerstown boy allegedly handcuffed and beaten unconscious by his mother's boyfriend for taking a piece of cake, according to information disclosed Thursday at the bond review hearing for Robert Leroy Wilson.

Wilson, 30, of Lynnehaven Drive, had his bail raised from $600,000 to $1 million during his bond review hearing before visiting District Court Judge Oliver Cejka Jr. Wilson is charged with first-degree physical abuse of a child resulting in severe physical injury, first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, court records said.

Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Mollett-Gaumer told Cejka during the hearing that the boy was "allegedly disciplined for stealing a piece of cake" and was left unconscious in the apartment on Tuesday for five hours until Wilson contacted 911.

"The child has not regained consciousness and is not expected to regain consciousness," Mollett-Gaumer told Cejka. The child is not expected to live, but if he does, he will have sustained permanent injuries, she said.

The boy was taken to Meritus Medical Center before being transferred to Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., according to the charging document.

At 8:33 p.m. on Tuesday, Hagerstown Police officers responded to the Lynnehaven Drive address to assist on an emergency medical call, the statement of probable cause said. The boy was unresponsive and officers saw bruising and abrasions on the left side of his face, neck and head, the document said.

There were also several abrasions along the boy's spinal column, back, buttocks and left leg, among other injuries, the charging document said. Some of the injuries appeared to be in "varying stages of healing," the document said.

Medical personnel believed the child needed to be flown to Children's National Medical Center, but a medevac helicopter was unavailable due to bad weather, the document said. The boy was examined at Meritus and found to have head trauma and pulmonary contusions, the document said.

Police learned that before police were called, an ambulance had been requested at the same address at 5:05 p.m. for a report of a 9-year-old having trouble breathing, the charging document said. As the ambulance crew was removing equipment from their vehicle, however, a woman identifying herself as the boy's mother came outside and told the ambulance personnel her son was just congested, the document said.

The mother, her brother and Wilson later were interviewed by police after the boy was taken to the hospital following the second ambulance call, the charging document said. The mother told police that Wilson called her twice on Tuesday afternoon while she was at work, telling her the boy "was not looking good," the document said.

Wilson later picked the mother up from work and he "kept saying he was sorry and admitted that he had hit (the boy) in the stomach for stealing birthday cake," the document said. The mother told police her son "has a problem with stealing things," the document said.

When the first ambulance arrived, the mother told the personnel they were not needed and her son was just congested, even though she knew he was unconscious, the charging documents said.

The mother's brother was interviewed and told police Wilson had become upset over the boy taking a piece of cake, the charging document said. The brother said he put the handcuffs on the boy because that was what was expected when the boy would steal things, the charging document said. He then left the room and Wilson went inside and closed the door, the document said.

The mother's brother heard thudding sounds and loud yelling and eventually went into the room to find Wilson asking the boy questions about the cake, the charging document said. When the boy got up from the floor, Wilson pushed him to the ground, the document said.

The mother's brother removed the handcuffs, but Wilson continued to hit the boy in the stomach and the boy was saying "please stop," the charging document said. The boy then became "quiet and unresponsive," the document said,

Wilson later came back to further question the boy and discovered he was unresponsive and stiff, the charging document said.