Father to stand trial in beating of 3-month-old
WEST GOSHEN » A Delaware County man who was charged with beating and seriously hurting his 3-month-old child remains in Chester County Prison.
Nicholas Marigliano, 27, of Havertown, appeared before District Judge William Kraut Thursday with his attorney to waive his right to a preliminary hearing on the charges West Goshen police filed against him earlier this month in connection with the alleged beating. He is charged with felony counts of aggravated as-
sault and endangering the welfare of a child, among other counts.
The case will now move to Chester County Common Pleas Court in West Chester. Marigliano, however, was taken back to county prison after failing to post the $250,000 bail Kraut set.
The proceeding before Kraut was brief, with Marigliano agreeing not to make the prosecution put on a preliminary case against him.
His attorney, Thomas H. Ramsay of West Goshen, who appeared with the Marigliano, defended his client’s character.
“Nick is a very nice 27-year-old man with no prior criminal record,” Ramsay said after the proceeding. “Nick has never used, let alone abused, drugs or alcohol and has been gainfully employed since he was a teenager. Nick is exceedingly remorseful and he accepts responsibility for his conduct towards his daughter, and is grateful that she appears to be making a full and complete recovery.”
According to police, the assault on the child took place June 15.
At 5:13 p.m., police were dispatched to a medical emergency in the 1200 block of Gail Road in a residential neighborhood off Phoenixville Pike. The initial report indicated that the victim was a 3-monthold baby and was unconscious.
Medical personnel responded to the home immediately, and transported the baby to Chester County Hospital. While being treated at the hospital, the baby was diagnosed with serious injuries and was subsequently transferred to Nemours-Alfred duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware.
According to a criminal complaint filed by West Goshen Detective Jose Torres and Chester County Detective Gerald Davis Jr. of the District Attorney’s Child Abuse Unit, the child was gasping for breath and had suffered a severe brain injury.
When police questioned Marigliano, who was taking care of the child at the time, he admitted to shaking the girl, dropping her on the floor, tossing her onto a sofa, and striking the baby after he became upset with her after picking her up from day care earlier in the day.
He said he called 911 when the child became unresponsive, and told investigators that he had shaken the baby in the past.
Deputy District Attorney Megan King of the D.A.’s Child Abuse Unit has been assigned to prosecute the case.