Page 4 May 4, 2016
The Newscaster/Nature Coast News
Man charged with child abuse
resulting in head Bennett of Beverly Hills was arrested by
injury to infant
Twenty-two year old Skyler
the Citrus County Sheriff s Office, April 28, charged with the aggravated child
abuse of a three month-old infant who was transported to Shands Hospital in
Gainesville with a head injury.
At the time of the arrest, the child was undergoing surgery and her prog-
nosis was unknown, according to hospital staff members who did state that the
Bennett injuries suffered by the victim were not consistent with being dropped, as Mr.
Bennett had told deputies had happened.
A witness told deputies that she d seen Bennett beat the infant on several occasions
over several weeks. She said, on April 25, Bennett had become upset and slapped the baby
on her face, several times with an open hand, and he d also punched the baby with a closed
fist, which was consistent with the child s facial injuries, according to the arrest report.
She also said that Bennett had shaken the child in a violent manner on several oc-
casions during the last couple months. On the night of April 27, the witness said, Bennett
had become angry with the infant and had slapped and violently shaken her, and then during
the early morning hours of April 28, Bennett had angrily shaken and choked the baby for at
least twenty seconds, during which the baby lost consciousness. According to the witness,
many of the beatings by Bennett had occurred because the baby would not stop crying.
During an interview with Bennett at the CCSO s Emergency Operations Center in
Lecanto, Bennett stated that all the injuries to the baby, including the loss of consciousnes,
were due to his accidentally dropping the child on April 28. However, the report stated that
Continued in right column
Shrimp Landing
The annual Sheriff's Summer Safety & Youth Expo, held on Sat. morning, April 30, drew a large
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48 Hwy. 19 S.
and various vendors - not to mention lots of information regarding safety.CCSO Photo.
Child Abuse - Continued from left column
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Bennett also said, several times, that he did not drop the baby. He said that he picks up the
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victim in a quick manner, but he d never shaken her, and that he d never choked the baby,
but it may have appeared as though he had because he d placed his hand near the baby s
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neck. He further stated, that although he doesn t remember doing anything to the baby, if
deputies had been told he had, that he must have done it, but he just did not remember doing
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it. In the arrest report the deputy stated, "The defendant admitted he was a bad person and
stated he does not deserve to live."
In the narrative, the deputy also wrote, "I ask the court to keep the bond at none
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due to the vicious beatings that the three month-old baby received at the hands of a violent
person, that self admitted, he lost his temper and has anger issues." Bennett s bond was set
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