Hot Springs man pleads guilty to injuring infant daughter
A Hot Springs man who injured his 1-month-old daughter last year when he fell on her while intoxicated pleaded guilty to a felony child endangerment charge Monday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Donald Drew-Patrick Sullivan, 25, who lists no prior criminal history, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, punishable by up to six years in prison, and was sentenced to six years’ probation, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay $440 in court costs.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Oct. 15, 2019, around 8:45 p.m., Hot Springs police responded to National Park Medical Center in reference to suspected child abuse and spoke to the mother and father, identified as Sullivan, of a 1-month-old girl who had been transferred to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock due to a fractured femur.
Sullivan initially told doctors and officers the baby had fallen off the bed and sustained her injuries. The doctors said the femur fracture shown in the X-ray would be “near impossible” to occur from a fall.
Later, Sullivan changed his story and told police he was changing his daughter’s diaper on a changing table and left to throw the diaper away. When he returned, he discovered she had fallen on the floor.
“After realizing that story was not possible,” Sullivan then changed his story a third time and said he fell on top of the victim, pinning her between himself and a small wooden staircase when he fell, the affidavit states.
On Oct. 17, around 2:45 p.m., Sullivan voluntarily came to the police department to speak to Detective Hunter Scott further about the incident and, after being read his rights, admitted to being intoxicated and falling on top of his daughter.
He said he drank several alcoholic beverages to the point he was intoxicated, knowing he was the only caretaker for his daughter at that time. He admitted to picking her up from her car seat, standing up, and then losing his balance, falling on top of her and pinning her between himself and the wooden staircase inside his house.
After further investigation, a warrant for Sullivan’s arrest was issued on Oct. 31 and he was arrested on Nov. 7. He was released later that same day on $10,000 bond and pleaded not guilty to the charge on Dec. 30 in circuit court. He was set to stand trial on Nov. 4 but opted to plead guilty Monday during a disposition hearing.