Is Oregon law preventing justice for abused toddler?

Because of a law in the US state of Oregon, no one is being held accountable for abusing one-year-old Jacob although the perpetrator has confessed, the toddler’s parents say, releasing the heart-breaking photos.

Joshua Marbury and Alicia Quinney released the pictures on Facebook on Friday, saying the baby-sitter who caused this had not been charged because the baby cannot tell the court what happened.

A 2012 Oregon Court of Appeals ruling makes it difficult to bring charges against the suspect for that reason, also arguing there is no sign of pain in the baby and furthermore there is no proof it was done intentionally.

“TWO months ago if not longer my 1-year-old son was smacked across the right side of his face by our babysitter (keep this person anonymous) to the point where MULTIPLE doctors (who in fact showed us hand prints) and the detective said it could have killed him,” said the post.

The couple said they left the toddler along with his three-year-old sister in the care of the babysitter for two hours.

When the mother returned she found the baby crying and the sitter sleeping on the couch.

"The next morning, it was 8:30 am and that's when he woke up, and that's when I saw Jacob," Quinney told KATU. "The first thing I saw was a black eye."

The baby sitter was not charged, however, and the case was dropped on May 20, making the couple turn to social media to call for help or maybe a change in the law.

“It’s giving a license to those abusers to injure children. If those children were in California, for example, or across the border — across the bridge up in Washington, that would not be the situation because the mere fact of the presence of bruises. The mere fact of the presence of scratches, etc. is an objective indicator of the injury,” Oregon attorney Paul Mones told KATU.

Quinney also complained that “They have to be able to prove substantial pain to be able to prosecute even tho (sic) the Deputy DA says they know the babysitter did it. They can’t prove substantial pain because baby Jacob can’t speak. Social media can help at times and this is one of them. We need to be Jacob’s voice. If you feel in your heart to share please do.”

Meanwhile, Washington County Deputy District Attorney Dustin Staten told The Oregonian that the photos had shaken him like other social media users.

“Seeing those photos has caused me to want to take a different path,” Staten said. “There’s additional people I need to consult with based on those photos I’ve seen today.”

Jacob’s physical injuries are now gone, his mother said, but shock will remain particularly with the abuser walking freely.

“His whole face, arm, back… [there were] bruises everywhere! He was screaming! He was crying! How does a baby communicate? They cry,” Quinney told KATU. “It’s not fair and I want my son to have justice and I want everybody else who is dealing with this to be able to come forward and be the voice for the people that need help.”

Meanwhile, a petition has been launched to call for a change in the law.

“We want everyone to share and sign this petition so that there can be justice for Jacob,” writes Mackenzie Fry, who started the petition on Change.org. “The goal is to reverse the law making it easier to convict child abusers. It will take the Oregon Supreme Court to ultimately overturn the ruling on Jacob’s case. We want the Oregon Supreme Court to review this case and serve justice to the abuser.”

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