Advertisement

Hudson man, accused of abusing girlfriend's 3-year-old child, faces more charges

 
Eric Latrone Sanders, 25, and Kimberly Lashawn Bedwell, 28, both of Hudson, are facing abuse charges in the beatings of Bedwell’s daughter, 3.
Eric Latrone Sanders, 25, and Kimberly Lashawn Bedwell, 28, both of Hudson, are facing abuse charges in the beatings of Bedwell’s daughter, 3.
Published Feb. 7, 2017

HUDSON — A brain bleed. A liver injury. Cuts and bruises.

Those are some of the life-threatening injuries that the Pasco County Sheriff's Office accused Eric Latrone Sanders of inflicting upon a 3-year-old girl over a period of several months.

Sanders, 25, of Hudson is the boyfriend of the girl's mother and was first arrested Jan. 25 in this case. So was the mother, Kimberly Lashawn Bedwell, 28, also of Hudson.

Additional charges were added against Sanders on Friday.

The abuse began, Bedwell told deputies, about Nov. 1. After the child urinated on herself, the mother said, Sanders would kick her in the thighs and stomach, punch her and whip her with a belt.

Sanders refused to buy diapers for the 3-year-old because they were too expensive, deputies said, and because he "thought the victim should learn not to pee on herself."

Then in January, Bedwell told deputies that Sanders punched the girl in the abdomen several times because she urinated on herself.

A few days later, on Jan. 17, she did it again, so Sanders put her in a corner.

"The defendant did not think that was good enough, so he kicked the victim in the back, causing her to hit the wall face first," deputies wrote.

Next, Sanders grabbed the girl by her throat, picked her up over his head and slammed her to the ground, forcing her head to hit the floor, according to deputies. That blow knocked her unconscious, caused the child to seize and resulted in the brain bleed.

The girl was taken to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point in Hudson, where deputies became aware of her injuries. The Sheriff's Office said doctors discovered the brain bleed and elevated levels of liver enzymes in her system, indicating she had suffered blunt-force trauma. She was also malnourished and dehydrated.

Due to the extent of her injuries, she was later flown to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. A doctor there said she was in danger of dying, and the Sheriff's Office said Monday that her injuries were still life-threatening.

Both Sanders and Bedwell told detectives they didn't know how the girl was injured.

Sanders, who was originally arrested on a charge of child neglect with serious injury, now faces two additional counts of aggravated child abuse and one count of child abuse. He was being held Monday in the Land O'Lakes Detention Center in lieu of $115,000 bail.

Bedwell also faces a charge of child neglect with serious injury. She was released from jail Thursday after posting $10,000 bail. She could not be reached for comment Monday.

Times senior news researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Contact Josh Solomon at (813) 909-4613 or jsolomon@tampabay.com. Follow @josh_solomon15.