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Mother jailed in worst child abuse case judge has seen

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19-month old left blind, deaf, unable to walk or talk

Herald-Sun, The (Durham, NC)

Author: JOHN STEVENSON The Herald-Sun

A woman who worked as a nanny was sentenced Wednesday to between 31 and 47 months in prison for physically abusing her own daughter, leaving the child permanently disabled.

The sentence for Melinda Ann Wilkins, 32, of 1700-A Gunter St., was handed down in Durham County Superior Court by Judge Orlando F. Hudson.

``This is probably the worst child abuse case I've seen where the child did not die,'' the judge said.

Wilkins had pleaded guilty earlier to a charge of feloniously abusing her 19-month-old daughter last year, leaving the child blind, deaf and unable to walk, talk or feed herself.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Armstrong said Wednesday that the child now ``lives a life of suffering, a life without enjoyment, a life without hope of anything better to come. It's hard to imagine injuries that could be more debilitating.

``I don't dispute that she loved this child,'' Armstrong said of Wilkins. ``She loved her to death. When the child couldn't meet her expectations, she acted out against the child.''

But Wilkins, speaking softly, insisted she was innocent, despite her recent guilty plea.

``I'm innocent. There was an accident, I mean, so ... I'm innocent,'' she said.

Her daughter was taken to Duke Hospital on Aug. 16, 1995, with numerous injuries. The child, who was unconscious, had a blood clot on the brain, retinal hemorrhaging, a fractured back and a fractured skull.

Official reports indicated, in addition, that physicians found evidence of old scars and rib fractures.

Wilkins first told police the child fell off a couch and hit her head while Wilkins was in the kitchen. Later, she reportedly changed the story to say she was playing with the girl and tossing her in the air. Wilkins said during the play she became dizzy and dropped the child onto the floor.

The injuries were said to have occurred in a home near Duke University's East Campus, where Wilkins worked as a nanny.

Durham Police Detective Art Holland said other children were in the house at the time, but they were upstairs when Wilkins' daughter was hurt.

Laura Gutman, a pediatric physician and director of Duke University's Child Protection Team, testified Wednesday that the child suffered injuries so severe that they could be likened to those of someone who fell out of a car moving at 50 mph or more. Injuries from a fall of 30 feet or more also might be equivalent, Gutman added.

``She was desperately injured and not expected to survive,'' Gutman said of the Wilkins child. ``She had had a massive injury to the brain. She was comatose, completely unresponsive. ... There was not an explanation that was credible as to how these injuries occurred. I concluded they were not accidental. ... It's called the shaken impact syndrome.''

1996 Nov 14