A Watkins man was charged in Meeker County District Court Wednesday after allegedly abusing his 3-month-old daughter.
Billy Dean Watson, 24, of Watkins was charged with four counts of first degree assault and one count of malicious punishment of a child. All counts are felonies.
The charges stem from a Watkins Police Department and Meeker County Sheriff's Department investigation after Terrina Lynn Stark, 20, of Watkins brought her 3-month-old daughter to the hospital for evaluation for unknown injuries. Sheriff investigators learned the child had sustained numerous injuries that were suspicious in nature and deemed “non-accidental trauma,” according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Department.
According to the criminal complaint, Watson - the child's father - told an investigator Tuesday “he had, on multiple occasions, squeezed her (the child) so hard as to hear ribs popping within her body.” Watson told the investigator about four separate incidents in which he shook the child since early October.
Watson is being held in Meeker County Jail on a $100,000 unconditional bond. The assault charges each carry 20 years in jail and/or $30,000 fines. This fifth count of malicious punishment carries a sentence of 10 years in jail and/or $20,000 in fine.
Stark was also formally charged Wednesday with one felony count of malicious punishment of a child. She was released on her own recognizance.
Read more in the Dec. 20 Independent Review.