Teen Charged With Child Abandonment, Abuse After Leaving Newborn On Side Of Road
WHITE CLOUD (WWJ/AP) - Newaygo County authorities have charged a 15-year-old girl with two felonies after they say she gave birth outside and left the baby in the grass.
The girl, of White Cloud, was charged in juvenile court Wednesday with child abandonment and second-degree child abuse in the July birth. She was accompanied by her father and pleaded no contest in a related Department of Human Services abuse and neglect case.
DHS caseworkers said during the hearing that DNA testing indicates a 14-year-old White Cloud boy is the father.
DHS will decide whether to try to terminate the girl's parental rights. Court officials say they will notify the boy and set a hearing to determine his rights.
The baby is in a temporary foster home.
A man walking his dog the morning on July 28 found the baby with its umbilical cord still attached. The man told reporters he thought his dog was sniffing a rabbit and started yelling when the unclothed baby started to move. He then dialed 911.
According to reports, the baby was found about five hours after the girl apparently gave birth near a fire pit in her backyard. She then walked across the street and placed the baby near a satellite dish, the Grand Rapids Press reported.
"(She) stated she did not know what to do with the baby, so she put the baby across the street on the ground and hoped that someone would find the baby or she would go out later to get the baby and say that she found the baby," according to the petition.
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