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No Justice: Gabriel, Now 6 Y O, Has Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, Is Blind & Unable To Speak

Sugar Cookie

Sugar Cookie

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Five years ago, a child abuse incident left 10-month-old Gabriel with permanent disabilities, including blindness, cerebral palsy and the inability to speak.

The man charged with the abuse, Robbie MacDonald, had multiple court hearings pushed back over that time period — something that Gabriel’s aunt, Becca Morales, said was emotionally taxing for the family.

So when MacDonald entered a guilty plea Tuesday in Fourth District Court on a reduced child abuse charge, agreeing to serve prison time as part of a plea deal, Morales said it was a relief to not have to think about it anymore.

“Every time this case gets dragged up, we have to focus on the things that (Gabriel) cannot do,” Morales said. “And everything that he isn’t and should be, and I think that’s the really hard thing. That’s why I’m really glad after today, and after sentencing is over, we don’t have to think about that anymore.”

In addition to the guilty plea for a third-degree felony child abuse charge, MacDonald also entered a guilty plea for a drug charge, which was reduced from a third-degree felony to a class A misdemeanor.

According to the probable cause statement, officers responded to an American Fork home on January 18, 2013, on reports of a 10-month old baby who was unconscious and not breathing.

Later, at the hospital, it was discovered the baby had a brain injury. Experts at the hospital, after ruling out any illness that could have caused such injuries, said the child’s injuries are most commonly associated with shaken baby syndrome.

MacDonald, who was determined to be the only person with access to the child during that time, gave police statements at the time, saying he put the baby down for a nap and found him a short time later, unresponsive, then later changed his story to say he accidentally tripped and dropped the baby on the floor, according to the probable cause statement.

Doctors said the injuries were not consistent with a single drop, the probable cause statement says. MacDonald had a previous conviction for child abuse in 2007, when he was left alone with a girlfriend’s one-month-old baby.

Gabriel, now 6 years old, has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, is unable to speak and is fed through a tube. Before the abuse, Morales said Gabriel was a normally-developing 10-month-old.

MacDonald was supposed to go to trial in September 2014, but the trial was canceled a month before. The public defender assigned to the case at the time outlined in a motion filed in court that she did not feel she had adequate time to prepare for a trial on such a complicated medical case.

Another trial in the case was scheduled for March 2018, but was also canceled and pushed back to October and November of 2018.

MacDonald posted bail in March 2013, and has been out of custody ever since as the case dragged out and multiple jury trials were rescheduled.

Morales said she is on board with the plea deal, because it saves the family going through the whole circus of a trial, but she also said she has no desire for revenge for what happened.

Rather than focusing on what Gabriel can’t do, Morales said she focuses on the improvements he makes, saying that the picture of him as a nonverbal quadriplegic is not complete.

“He is a bright boy,” Morales said. “He’s working on communicating with assistive devices, he’s able to smile and laugh, and I think that the little soul that he was, the little happy boy that he was, I still see it.”

Johnson said based on the reduced charges, MacDonald is likely looking at at least 16 months behind bars before his first parole hearing. The third-degree felony of child abuse could result in a prison sentence of up to five years.
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Crystle said:
I feel so sorry for the baby. Being a quadriplegic sucks. A lot of other health problems come with it. I've been one since 2001 and I can't even count surgeries or hospital stays. I hope he can have some great improvements!
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Sorry ..I don't have the right words For you
I was wondering was it from abuse like this child ?
I don't mean in anyway disrespectful to you
I know it can happen in childbirth etc
But many cases its from shaking baby and or mishandling young children

It see.s your doing well ? You stay busy ?

So many people that come from homes of abuse have mild cases and some are so slight you can't see it ..but abuse and violence towards a baby/children. At a early age does have devastating effects on some them
Just wondering if you were also abused
Peace..
 
There are ways, Jack. Sippy straw, look and blink, and finger motions are three that I came up with off the top of my head.

Head sticks are another.

The specific methodology is not important. Call it "adaptive solutions" and get on with your life.

--Al
 
Crystle said:
Ok firstly I typed with my fingers like you do. Secondly there are all types of quadrapelgics. Like for me I am a c5,6,7 which means my injury starts at my chest and goes down. Therefore my arms and hands work just now 100%. Some peoples injury is further up and they don't have use of their arms or hands.
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quad·ri·ple·gic
ˌkwädrəˈplējik/
adjective
adjective: quadriplegic
  1. 1.
    affected by or relating to paralysis of all four limbs; tetraplegic.
    "quadriplegic patients"
noun
noun: quadriplegic; plural noun: quadriplegics
  1. 1.
    a person affected by paralysis of all four limbs.
    "a car accident left him a quadriplegic"
 
That is the correct definition. But each injury is totally different. I was in medical rehab that a girl had the same injury as I do and she could use her arms and hands with no problem. I can use my arms and hands but I don't have a grasp and I can't pinch. Just like Christopher Reeves was a quad but he had to use machines to move. Each is different.
 
May 30, 2018
Like most 6-year-old boys, Gabriel loves tasting ice cream. He enjoys bouncing on a trampoline, going to the opera and playing on the swings. In photos, he is all smiles.

That’s really all there is to know about Gabriel, said his aunt, Becca Morales. “Even through his profound disabilities and limitations, he enjoys a lot of things about his life.”
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Gabriel was a normal, growing 10-month-old baby before the afternoon his mother’s boyfriend beat him. The physical abuse caused quadriplegic cerebral palsy, leaving Gabriel unable to ever “walk or talk or eat or see,” Morales explained.

But he still works hard at physical therapy and his schoolwork. He practices holding up his head.

“He is really good considering what he’s working with,” Morales said. “We’ve worked very hard to get him to a stable place.”

For the past five years, the lengthy court case following the abuse has plagued her family.

But on Tuesday, after multiple reschedule jury trials, subpoenas and hearings, the ordeal came to a close.
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Robbie MacDonald, 28, was sentenced in 4th District Court to zero to five years for child abuse, a third-degree felony, and one year for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a class A misdemeanor. Both sentences will run consecutively with each other.

He also had a previous child abuse conviction in 2007, when he was left alone with a girlfriend’s 1-month-old baby in Layton.

“Our ability to forgive in this situation came after a lot of time, and most importantly prayer,” Morales said. “Forgiveness is a gift. Both to those offering it and those receiving it.”

She and her husband cared for Gabriel for two years after the incident while the child’s father trained in the National Guard. Now, she acts as Gabriel’s personal secretary, taking him to doctor appointments and physical therapy while his father works and continues to train.
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Family finds healing after sentencing on child abuse case

Like most 6-year-old boys, Gabriel loves tasting ice cream. He enjoys bouncing on a trampoline, going to the opera and playing on the swings. In photos, he is all smiles. That’s really all there is to know about Gabriel, said his aunt, Becca Morales. “Even through his profound disabilities and...
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For Morales, the sentencing provides a sense of closure. During the years of the court case, she said she worked hard to forgive MacDonald for his actions.

“It takes time to let it go,” she said. “But holding onto that bitterness does not benefit anybody. It just doesn’t.”
 
You morons still don't support Sharia law? You prefer the punishment these animals get is 10 years in a taxpayer funded public home.
 
Sharia_Now said:
You morons still don't support Sharia law? You prefer the punishment these animals get is 10 years in a taxpayer funded public home.
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Not big on women being stoned to death for going outside without a burkha covering every inch of their body, or people being hanged in the streets due to suspicions theyre gay, or being tortured for not memorizing the Quaran
 
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