BELL COUNTY, Ky. — Prosecutors say a 17-month-old girl has died after being sexually assaulted in Middlesboro, Kentucky.
The girl, who was severely injured, was taken to the Middlesboro ARH Hospital on Friday, July 28. Due to the extent of her injuries, she was flown to East Tennessee Children's Hospital.
"That somebody could be that sick out there to let this go on," said Caley Ayers from the Middlesboro Police Department. "I have seen some kids like that, but not at this age."
Prosecutors confirmed the girl died Sunday night. Citations show that the girl's mother, 21-year-old Erica Lawson, was arrested. She is being held at the Bell County Detention Center.
Lawson was charged with manslaughter, criminal abuse to a child under 12 years old, failure to report child abuse and wanton endangerment. Authorities said she could face more charges later.
"In my time with the commonwealth, this is one of the most severe cases of abuse, specifically because that baby is 17 months old at that time," Ayers said.
Another arrest is expected. Police said the child's father had not been charged with a crime as of Monday afternoon. They also said they were working to apprehend the second suspect.
"The mother and father were not together. The father is not a suspect at this time, but that could change," Ayers said.
Police said the girl's uncle went to authorities several weeks ago after suspecting that someone burned her. However, police "couldn't find the kid and the uncle did not know where the kid was at the time."
A candlelight vigil was planned at City Hall Tuesday evening for the girl.
"What is disheartening is the public's response," said Lisa Fugate, a Kentucky attorney. "If a child is abused, report it. Don't withhold it, don't go on — report it. Call someone. Do something because this could very well be a different outcome had that been the case."
According to WRIL, Lawson was being held on a $1 million bond with a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 8. According to a release from WRIL, investigators were looking into "hundreds of leads" including several interviews.
They said as part of the investigation, DNA was gathered from subjects questioned about their role in the incident, which has been sent for testing.