Abuse case turned over to commission

Published 12:00 am Monday, April 17, 2000

HARRISONBURG, La. – The Louisiana Sanity Commission is reviewing the case of a Sicily Island woman accused of abusing an infant in her care, a district attorney’s investigator confirmed Monday.

Andrea Jackson, 24, is accused of breaking the leg of an 11-month-old infant she was babysitting for a Catahoula Parish couple, said Kurt Parish of the Seventh Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Jackson was indicted April 10 by a Catahoula Parish grand jury on one count of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and three counts of cruelty to a juvenile.

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The commission will now determine whether Jackson is competent to stand trial, Parish said. It is not known when the commission will release its findings.

Jackson’s attorney, Derrick Carson of Ferriday, requested that the commission review the case, Parish said. Carson could not be reached for comment Monday.

Parish said that Jackson, whom he described as a friend of the infant’s family, had been babysitting the child for about one month before the March 20 incident.

The couple &uot;noticed bruises on the baby and thought (Jackson) had been sleeping and not looking after the baby, and that (the child) had just fallen and bruised itself,&uot;&160;Parish said. &uot;They had no idea it was anything this serious.&uot;

So the couple, whom Parish would not name, set up a video camera to catch Jackson sleeping. Instead, it allegedly taped Jackson lying the baby face down on the couch and breaking its right leg, Parish said. He added that the infant, according to its parents, &uot;is doing much better.&uot;

A charge of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, while cruelty to a juvenile carries a maximum of 10 years.