She had left the boy, listed in court records as “JN”, with her boyfriend, Nicholas Kernechel, 27, of East Greenville, while she went to work overnight July 18 into July 19, according to police.
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When the child was interviewed, he told authorities that Kernechel “hit and take them out”, referring to his teeth, and went on to say Kernechel was not nice, according to the arrest affidavit.
Defense attorney Patrick McMenamin Jr. on Monday denied the alleged abuse, calling the child’s injuries “an unfortunate accident” that occurred when he slipped as Kernechel was helping him out of bed to use the bathroom.
The boy was in the care of Kernechel the night of July 18, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman’s office.
The boy is autistic and was apparently not doing what Kernechel wanted him to do, according to CBS Philly.
Officials said Kernechel struck the boy, identified in charging documents only as ‘JN, ‘ and yanked the teeth out.
The child’s teeth were “physically extracted, removed from his mouth, forcefully” and afterward the defendant “left him to suffer overnight until the morning when his mother found him and saw what had been done”, Ferman said.
Police allege that the child was in sole care of Kernechel when he was injured, and a subsequent medical examination indicated that his “teeth were pulled out”.
The Mercury newspaper reported the boy’s mother told investigators she left her son with Kernechel while she went out with friends for about two hours.
The boy’s mother returned to the residence where they were staying and found the boy asleep on the floor of his room on top of dried blood with injuries that had received no treatment, the DA’s office says. When questioned, detectives said the boy reenacted being hit in the head when describing his injuries.
While authorities believe that the alleged physical assaults of the child, who is autistic, began in April, the most recent incident came to light on July 19.
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Although the child’s mouth and nose were bleeding, the complaint reported Kernechel telling police that he placed the child in bed and closed the door. If he does post bail, he can not contact the boy or the boy’s mother.A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday before District Judge Catherine Hummel-Fried.
