A man was sentenced to three years’ probation on Friday for not preventing the apparent physical abuse of a child who died in an Arlington hospital in 2018.
Derick Roberson, 43, pleaded guilty to injury to a child by omission on February 17. The charge comes in relation to the death and alleged abuse of a toddler under the care of Roberson and Shamonica Jackson.
Roberson and Jackson, 38, had custody of 2-year-old Aniyah Darnell at the time of her death and had been caring for her since August 2018, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It is unclear what their relationship is to Darnell, but Jackson had been caring for her on behalf of the child’s mother.
On November 17, 2018, police were called to the Las Lomas Apartments at 1:30 a.m., where they found Darnell unresponsive.
Jackson had allegedly become upset with the toddler after she repeatedly went to the bathroom in her clothes and beaten her with a belt and her hand to teach her “a lesson.”
Darnell was taken to the Medical City Arlington, where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room at 2:15 a.m., reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Her death was ruled a homicide, and the cause was listed as “battered child with dehydration” by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Roberson was accused of failing to intervene as Jackson allegedly abused Darnell, and of not attempting to administer CPR to the child after she was beaten with a belt.
An affidavit from Arlington police details claims of the apparent abuse suffered by Darnell, noting that Darnell had burns on her backside and foot, allegedly incurred because Jackson had placed the child in bathwater that was too hot, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Rather than taking the toddler to a hospital, Jackson allegedly attempted to administer “home remedies” to attend to the burn while continuing to beat her.
Jackson is charged with capital murder in connection with Darnell’s death, and her trial is scheduled for March.
Roberson was also originally charged with capital murder and was tried at the end of 2022, but a judge declared a mistrial in December because the jury was split 11-1 and could not reach a verdict.
According to his plea agreement, if Roberson successfully completes the probation period, the conviction will not appear on his record.
“We are happy with this,” Roberson’s attorney Michael Campbell Jr. said Friday about the sentence, according to AOL News. “He gets a second chance at life.”
Prosecutors said they are not seeking the death penalty for Jackson.
In nearby Dallas, murder continues to rise, with the year-to-date murder count exceeding last year’s count. Overall, violent crime is up more than 8%, according to the latest daily crime briefing released.