Mother of severely injured 1-month-old charged with endangerment
Child’s father accused of attempted homicide
The mother of a 1-month-old who was allegedly beaten and sexually assaulted by his father in Greene County was charged Wednesday with endangering her son’s welfare.
Kyliene Rhome, 24, of Washington Township allegedly continued to leave her son in the care of his father, Zachary Bryte, despite witnessing numerous instances of abuse, police said. Bryte was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and sexual assault of the child earlier this week.
The parents had taken the child to UPMC – Greene Sunday after the child began to show seizure-like symptoms, police said. The baby was later transferred to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W. Va., where police said he remains in critical condition.
Staff at the Ruby Memorial intensive care unit identified numerous severe injuries, including a skull fracture, brain bleeding, multiple rib fractures and bruising on multiple parts of the body, according to the criminal complaint.
Rhome told police she believed Bryte, 26, of Washington Township was responsible for the child’s injuries.
“Rhome related that she had been warned by family members not to trust Bryte with the victim,” state police Trooper Richard Magnuson wrote in the affidavit. “Rhome acknowledged that she knew Bryte had a habit of laying his hands on the victim.”
While police said they believe the alleged abuse has gone on since the child’s birth, Rhome reportedly told officers she noticed a change in the child’s health about two weeks before he was taken to the hospital.
In an incident a week before Bryte’s arrest, according to the complaint, Rhome saw Bryte strike the baby in the chest, for which she scolded him.
In police interviews, she also expressed awareness of other instances of abuse. Two weeks before, she told police, after she and Bryte had an argument, she heard the sound of a head hitting the headboard. She subsequently warned Bryte, “that better not have been the victim’s head,” the complaint said.
Rhome is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and as of press time had not been arraigned.
No preliminary hearing date had not been set as of Wednesday.
Bryte had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday, which was continued in order to schedule it for a larger space at the Greene County Courthouse, Judge Lee Watson said Wednesday. The new date has yet to be determined.