Mother of severely injured infant held for court on endangerment charge
The mother of a 1-month-old who allegedly suffered physical and sexual abuse by his father in Greene County was held for court on charges of endangering her son’s welfare.
Witnesses testified on Wednesday that Kyliene Rhome, 24, of Washington Township, had known of instances of abuse by the boy’s father, Zachary Bryte, well before the day she took her son to the hospital.
Bryte, 26, of Washington Township, was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and sexual assault of the child last week. Police alleged Bryte abused the boy nearly since his birth.
Court paperwork alleged Bryte admitted to several instances of hitting his son; other injuries he attributed to falling while carrying the infant. While changing the child’s diaper, Bryte also allegedly inserted an object into the child’s rectum under the stated belief that he was constipated, according to police. Rhome later told police the child did not suffer from constipation.
Greene County District Attorney Brianna Vanata said Rhome had been aware of the child’s injuries, and of Bryte’s violent nature, and done nothing to get her child out of harm’s way until it reached a crisis point, Rhome had taken the child to UPMC – Greene on June 1 after he experienced seizure-like symptoms. He was transferred to Ruby Medical Center in Morgantown, W. Va., where he remained in critical condition as of Tuesday.
State police Trooper Richard Magnuson, who interviewed both Rhome and Bryte, testified Wednesday.
Based on interviews, Magnuson said, Bryte had been violent toward Rhome already, but those tendencies escalated after the birth of the child.
Magnuson referenced several instances and signs of abuse noted by Rhome, such as bruises and an incident where Bryte had left the room after a verbal argument with her. Rhome told police she’d heard the sound of something hitting the headboard, which she told Bryte had “better not be the baby’s head.”
Jessica Welsh, a caseworker with Children and Youth Services in Waynesburg, has seen the child almost every day since June 1, when he’d been put in a medically induced coma.
The baby had been lethargic and covered in bruises, including ones above his eye and left forehead. During subsequent visits, she saw more bruising around his body.
In addition to the bruising, police said staff at the Ruby Memorial intensive care unit also identified numerous severe internal injuries, including a skull fracture, brain bleeding and multiple rib fractures.
“To your knowledge, were all the injuries to the baby brand new?” Vanata asked Welsh.
“To my knowledge, they were not,” Welsh said.
Rhome is lodged in the Greene County Jail on $15,000. She watched Wednesday’s hearing via videoconference, crying and burying her face in her hands during others’ testimony.
Rhome’s formal arraignment in the Greene County Court of Common Pleas was set for July 28.
Bryte had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing June 4, which was postponed to accommodate a move to the Greene County Courthouse. A new date has not been set.