Steelstown Road in North Newton Township, Pennsylvania, where a father left his 2-year-old daughter outside for hours during a snowstorm (Google Maps).
A 29-year-old Pennsylvania father who slept off a hangover as his 2-year-old daughter suffered “severe” frostbite while she was locked outside in a winter storm wearing only a T-shirt and a diaper is avoiding time behind bars.
Joshua Ryan Kitner pleaded guilty Tuesday to endangering the welfare of a child for an incident in Cumberland County. He was sentenced to two years of probation. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped two charges of aggravated assault of a child. Local ABC affiliate WHTM reported that temperatures were in the teens and as much as a foot of snow hit parts of the Keystone State when the girl was outside.
A probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime said Kitner told investigators he woke up around 5 p.m. Jan. 29 and found the girl outside his home on Steelstown Road in North Newton Township.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
He said he believed his daughter may have been locked out of the house when she was letting the dog outside to go to the bathroom. He was the sole adult watching his daughter that day. He later admitted he was hungover from drinking eight or nine beers the night before, the affidavit stated.
“Kitner advised the victim was seated on her butt and dozing off,” cops wrote. “Kitner further related the victim was cold and her feet/toes were frozen and purple, almost black in color.”
Authorities said she was suffering from “severe frostbite.” Paramedics rushed her to the hospital. She spent roughly a week in the burn unit. After her release, she needed another month of follow-up doctor’s appointments, the affidavit said.
The girl also suffered frostbite to her hands. The worst of the frostbite was on her feet, which nearly required surgery.
WHTM reported that two women, ages 27 and 30, were charged with obstructing a Cumberland County Children and Youth Services investigation and failing to comply with a court order related to the case.
The Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately return a message for comment.
The post Father who slept as 2-year-old’s toes became ‘frozen and purple’ while locked out of home during winter storm will continue to enjoy the comforts of his own bed first appeared on Law & Crime.
