A 20-year-old Walker father is facing a felony child abuse charge after his eight-week-old son was hospitalized with multiple broken bones, internal injuries, and a brain injury. Kymauri Johnson was arrested after Walker police and Children's Protective Services investigated a report of severe physical trauma to the infant, and his case has now advanced to Kent County's felony court.
According to CBS News Detroit, police say Johnson caused several broken bones and internal injuries to his eight-week-old child, with the injuries reportedly inflicted at the family's home in the 200 block of Manzana Court. Officers were dispatched to Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids on September 10 after hospital staff flagged the injured infant. The City of Walker Police Department confirmed on its Facebook page that hospital staff initially alerted officers that day. Johnson was held in jail on a $100,000 cash/surety bond, and the infant was treated and released from the hospital.
Detectives and Children's Protective Services investigated the incident together and interviewed the child's family members, the Walker Police Department's post notes. The investigation determined that the child's father had caused the injuries, according to police, and Johnson was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree child abuse. The infant was treated and released from the hospital, police say.
Full Extent of the Infant's Injuries
Court documents and regional news reporting indicate the eight-week-old suffered a brain injury in addition to the multiple broken bones and internal injuries already described by police, according to coverage referenced in a local Facebook post tracking the case. Michigan statute MCL 750.136b specifically defines “serious physical harm” to include bone fractures, brain damage, subdural hematomas, and internal injuries, a legal threshold that distinguishes felony-level child abuse from lesser charges.
Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, where the infant was evaluated, is a 241-bed facility in downtown Grand Rapids and West Michigan's only designated Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, according to Corewell Health. The hospital's specialized pediatric emergency and child protection resources positioned staff to identify the injuries and trigger the legal reporting process that followed.
Mandatory Reporting Law Triggered the Case
Under Michigan's Child Protection Law, MCL 722.623, physicians, nurses, and hospital personnel who have reasonable cause to suspect child abuse must immediately report it to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Centralized Intake by telephone or, if available, online, per the Michigan Legislature. After an oral telephone report, a written report is due within 72 hours; an online report, if available, counts as the written report.
In this case, detectives and Children's Protective Services investigated the incident together and interviewed the child's family members, the police department's post notes. The investigation determined that the child's father had caused the injuries, according to police.
Case Now in Circuit Court
The case moved on September 29 to Kent County's 17th Circuit Court for further proceedings. Under Section 750.136b of the Michigan Penal Code, a first-offense conviction for second-degree child abuse is a felony carrying a statutory maximum sentence of up to 10 years in state prison.
The case follows another Kent County prosecution involving infant injuries this past month, when Hoodline reported that a former Helen DeVos Children's Hospital nurse was charged with second-degree child abuse after a skeletal survey uncovered multiple fractures in a premature infant. That defendant faced two felony counts under the same statute now applied to Johnson's case.
