An Indiana father was sentenced to the maximum of 16 years in prison for neglect after his infant son was found covered with rat bites. David Schonabaum, 32, was convicted in September on three felony counts of neglect of a dependent.
Prosecutors said that Schonabaum called 911 to report that his six-month-old son was severely injured by rats. When officers and paramedics arrived, they found the young child “laying in his crib in a pool of blood, and the bites were so bad on his body − including his face, mouth, and extremities − that they left bone showing on one hand and he is now permanently disfigured.”
The boy was rushed to the hospital for treatment, where doctors estimated he was bitten at least 50 times.
Officials said that the Indiana Department of Child Services had opened a case regarding the conditions at home.
During the sentencing hearing, Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Robert Pigman found there were no mitigating factors to reduce the sentence.
Police also arrested the boy’s mother, 29-year-old Angel Schonabaum, on charges of neglect. She pleaded guilty to felony neglect charges just a few days before the start of her trial and will be sentenced on October 24.
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