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Mother feels wheels of justice turn too slowly
By John W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
The mother of a toddler who was left severely injured, purportedly by her former boyfriend, says the wheels of justice seem to be turning slowly to put him in prison.
Timothy White, 30, of Austintown appeared before Judge Lou D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday for a pretrial hearing. White is charged with four counts of felony child endangering and felonious assault.
The charges stem from an incident in November 2009 when White was baby- sitting the 2-year-old daughter of his then-girlfriend Jacqueline Eagshaw.
Before the evening was over, the child was rushed to the hospital with serious burns on her body and a serious blow to the head.
Eagshaw said White explained the injuries by saying the child had run into a door and fallen down, but experts have told her otherwise. She said doctors have told her that injuries to her daughter were the equivalent of someone’s being hit by a moving car or being thrown from a third-floor window.
“You just don’t get those kinds of injuries from running into a door and falling down,” the emotional mother said outside the courtroom before the pretrial hearing.
Gabriel Wildman, an assistance county prosecutor, said he could not comment on the case because it is pending, but did say he is looking forward to taking the matter to trial. The trial date is set for Jan. 18.
Eagshaw said she understands that prosecutors are doing what needs to be done, but she is tired of waiting for her daughter’s day in court. The trial originally had been set for January of this year but has been postponed five times since then.
Eagshaw said the trips to court and constant waiting have been trying on her family.
“This has affected every part of my life — my school, my health. It is an emotional roller coaster,” she said.
The child will be 3 in November. She is still having major health issues and seeing doctors on a regular basis, Eagshaw said.