A Memphis man has been convicted of aggravated child neglect of his 3-month-old son who suffered a fractured skull while in the father’s care two years ago, Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich said Monday.
The Criminal Court jury convicted defendant Jason Doty, 45, of reckless aggravated assault which carries two to four years in prison. Since the child victim was under age 8, Doty faces 15 to 25 years in prison without the possibility for parole for aggravated child neglect when he is sentenced Nov. 2 by Judge Lee Coffee.
The incident occurred the morning of March 30, 2015, at the residence in the 4500 block of Amboy Road near Cherry Road and Quince Road. Doty told officials the baby fell off a changing table onto the hardwood floor, but doctors testified that the baby’s injuries could not have been caused by a fall.
One doctor said the injuries were caused by blunt force trauma to the head not consistent with a fall, while another doctor, an ophthalmologist, said retinal hemorrhages in the child’s eyes were the result of child abuse.
The case was handled by Asst. Dist. Attys. Dru Carpenter and Cavett Ostner of the DA’s Special Victims Unit (SVU) which prosecutes cases of child sexual abuse and severe physical abuse of child victims; rape and aggravated rape of adult victims, and abuse of elderly and vulnerable adults.
SVU reviews child-victim cases with Shelby County’s multi-agency Child Protection Investigative Team.
