Charles Phillip Beck, 53, faces two Level 5 felony charges in Wayne Superior Court 2: domestic battery resulting in bodily injury to a person younger than 14 and neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury. The charges follow an investigation into injuries found on a 1-year-old girl who had been left in his care.
The baby’s mother told a Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy on Oct. 20 that she had found extensive bruising and what she described as a definite hand mark on her daughter’s buttocks, according to the Richmond Palladium-Item. The girl, who is related to Beck by marriage, had been left with him along with an older sibling, the newspaper reported.
The child was taken to Reid Hospital. The Palladium-Item reported that a physician told investigators she had deep bruising. The responding deputy also notified the Indiana Department of Child Services, whose official became involved in the investigation, the newspaper reported.
How DCS defines a substantiated finding
Indiana Department of Child Services policy says an assessment is substantiated when the evidence meets a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard or the alleged perpetrator admits to abusing or neglecting the child, according to the department’s policy.
Beck’s Statement to Investigators
The Palladium-Item reported that Beck had noticed the bruises. According to the newspaper’s account of the affidavit, he told a deputy that he whips children left in his care as discipline and was unsure whether he had whipped the girl hard enough to cause her injuries.
Beck was arrested and booked into the Wayne County Jail, then released after posting a $13,500 bond, the Palladium-Item reported. The newspaper also reported that Indiana court records show no prior felony convictions for Beck.
Felony Charges Carry Years in Prison
Both charges against Beck are Level 5 felonies, each carrying a maximum six-year prison term, the Palladium-Item reported. Indiana’s criminal code, which covers battery and related offenses, separately defines criminal recklessness as recklessly, knowingly or intentionally performing an act that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person, according to a statute published by the Indiana General Assembly. That provision was not cited as a charge against Beck in the newspaper’s reporting.
The Palladium-Item reported that Beck’s trial is scheduled for Feb. 22, 2027. No further details on the case’s progress or the child’s current condition have been made public.
