Richard F. Bartlett Admits to Abusing Seven-Week-Old Son
In Lake Havasu City, Arizona, Richard F. Bartlett, 20, admitted to “manhandling” his seven-week-old son, David.
Bartlett showed police how he threw the baby on to the changing table when his son woke him up in the middle of the night. The baby was crying at the top of his lungs, which irritated him. So Bartlett, a real genius, grabbed the baby and squeezed him to get him to stop crying.
Of course the baby didn’t, so Bartlett started squeezing him harder. The he took tossed David down on the changing table, and in the process smacked the baby’s head.
The abuse continued. As he was changing David’s diaper, he pushed the baby’s legs back until they popped. The baby’s femur, rib and collarbone were broken.
Bartlett has pleaded not guilty to a felony count of child abuse and a felony charge of aggravated assault – charges that each carry a sentence of 10 to 24 years in prison. Also, he’s only being held on $5,000 bond, which seems damn low. The public defender said he wasn’t a threat to children, just someone who ill prepared to be a dad.
Oh, please. Everyone knows to be gentle with babies – we’ll everyone but this asshole.
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April 20th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Please may I have a baseball bat and 20 minutes alone with this sorry excuse for a man? A man who abuses a woman is bad enough, but one who “manhandles” a baby deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison getting beat by his fellow inmates.
April 20th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
The public defender said ‘he wasn’t a threat to children?” OH, just his own children, huh.
That POS. I hope he NEVER sees that baby again.
April 20th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I’m tired of men abusing babies! Can you imagine what his evil, hateful face looks like? *shudders in terror* Poor baby must’ve been terrified! Babies are soooo helpless! That sadistic asshat doesn’t deserve the chance to procreate ever again!
April 20th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Why such a low bond? That’s outrageous.
April 20th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Sadly, for some reason, in certain places it seems to be generally accepted by the legal system that men abuse babies, and they are allowed to bail out of jail, or serve light sentences and go out and do it all over again.
It doesn’t seem to sink in for judges that these men will kill any children in their care if given the time and opportunity, not until, that is…IT HAPPENS. Men who have been previously convicted of crimes against tiny, sobbing, helpless children kill other children every day. Even worse, sometimes the courts let them kill the battered, shattered innocent children they were convicted of hurting in the first place.
Who wants to bet me five bucks that social services lets this guy have supervised visits with his child as soon as he makes bail? Hang him in the town square, make all those assholes released before him watch. Maybe they’ll think about parenting classes next time they get the urge to slap a child. Maybe they’ll just remember the snapping sound as this shit reaches the end of the rope. Either way, something has to be done to stop this, and the courts won’t do it. Isn’t hurting someone based on who they are as a person a hate crime? Wouldn’t beating a baby for simply being a baby(crying) be a hate crime? That qualifies for a life sentence with no parole, I do believe, or at least attempted murder.
Maybe I’m too harsh. I should respect this man’s rights. Lets hope he exercises his right to die.
April 20th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Pyscatheus, I bet you are correct. Some idiot judge will let this guy around kids again. I hope like hell it’s not this same child. He may kill him this time. This entire thing makes me sick.
And no, you aren’t too harsh. This guy deserves to die.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:47 am
OK, where the hell was the mother? Even if she’s dumber than a box of rocks, she still would have had to know he was doing this to her baby. Is this yet another case of some stupid chick putting a dick before her baby?
How could she not know he was doing this? How could she NOT hit him over the head with the nearest blunt object the first time she realized he’d raised a hand to her baby? And PLEASE don’t give me the “he abused her too, so she was scared” defense. I had an uncle who beat the crap out of his wife regularly during their 30-year marriage, but guess what, he NEVER raised a hand to his kids because my aunt told him point blank that if he ever harmed their kids she’d kill him. She had NO self-esteem, so she’d let him smack her around, but she DID have motherly instinct and would have died to protect her kids.
Let me amend my previous statement. I’ll take a bat and 20 minutes alone with him and just 10 minutes and my bare hands to slap the shit out of her.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:55 am
The bond is actually $250,000, which sounds more realistic:
http://www.havasunews.com/articles/2008/04/08/news/doc47fb06be5fbf0717089406.txt
I’m shaking after reading he bent the kids legs back until they popped. This is one of those days I wish I were rich so I could fly out to Colorado and throw a few cheap shots at him when he goes to court. Arrested for battery? It’d be WORTH EVERY PENNY.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:53 am
Thebigguy, I am so with you on that. It would be worth every penny. Maybe some of those guys in jail will get him. I hope so.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
That poor little baby! I can’t imagine how painful being tortured like that must have been! I hope that poor baby is doing well, and I hope that man, while serving his time in prison gets his ass kicked on a daily basis. Please, if you know any inmates in the same prison he ends up in, tell them to beat the living crap out of him so he knows how it feels. Also, tell them to break a few bones, and I hear a broken nose can be quite painful. Go for the nose and the groin area!
April 28th, 2008 at 4:15 am
I hope that this little baby is ok and goes on to have a beautiful life surrounded by loving people.
How many times do I have to say it .. WALK AWAY!! If you feel like you’re going to snap (sometimes lack of sleep gets to you) .. just WALK AWAY!! God, even as I am writing this I am thinking of the worst thing I have ever done to my daughter .. and it’s just raising my voice slightly. But to do what this man did .. sorry, .. what this ANIMAL did????
I can’t comprehend how you could ever do that to a baby. My heart breaks for the pain that little baby must have went through. And at the hands of his father.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I would like to bend his weiner back until it pops… OFF!!! Then choke him with it… (Sorry guys)
What a worthless waste of human space. GRRRRRRR. Let me gues – This is the first time he abused a child?!?! Where was the mother???
August 26th, 2009 at 12:06 am
Just so all of you know, this man was severely injured in a car crash and was lobotomized, he’s lost all ability to reason, just so you all know before you jump to conclusions. April RJ, the mother is also mentally disabled. Don’t ask.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:08 am
DISREGARD THAT. MY INFORMATION WAS BASED ON A SIMILAR CASE WITH A MAN OF THE SAME FIRST NAME.
December 4th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
In case anyone is still following this case…
Last Tuesday (12/1/09), I was called to jury duty in Kingman, AZ, regarding this case. I was not chosen, but am following the case now. Today’s Havasu paper (12/4/09) states that this sperm donor (I will NOT refer to him as a father of any sort because he does not qualify) was found guilty of both felonies (child abuse [the baby got hurt] and aggravated assault [he did the hurting]), but that, according to the prosecutor, “It is a probation-eligible offense or the judge could decide to give him one to three-and-three-quarter years (in prison).” I am incredulous!! This guy breaks the baby’s collarbone, a rib, and his femur because he’s pissed off his 7-wk old baby is CRYING?? And he could walk?? WTF is WRONG with the justice system?? The penalty is up to the judge, who will make his ruling on 1/4/10. For those who do not know, the mother was asleep at the time of the abuse.