Crawford County dad pleads guilty in shaken baby case


August 31, 2007 at 10:06a.m.

Crawford County dad pleads guilty in shaken baby case

MEADVILLE, Pa. (AP) — A man pleaded guilty to charges that he shook his infant daughter so violently that she’ll likely suffer from mental retardation, seizures and blindness.

Ronald Wayne Hicks, 27, of Oil Creek Township, pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated assault in Crawford County Common Pleas Court.

Hicks acknowledged that he became impatient while watching his 4-month-old daughter and two other children on Nov. 13. Police say the girl was fussing while Hicks tried to feed her.

Doctors who treated the child have said she suffered brain hemorrhaging and damage to her heart, liver and retinas and predicted long-term complications as a result.

Hicks faces up to 20 years in prison when he returns to be sentenced Sept. 26.