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Suspect Charged With Sex Assault On Newark Child

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Oct 19, 2008 8:52 am US/Eastern

Suspect Charged With Sex Assault On Newark Child

NEWARK (AP) ― The death of a 10-month-old baby in Newark has led to criminal charges against the mother's boyfriend.

Saturday night, police charged him with sexually abusing the infant.

No one was home Saturday at 13B Cutler Street.

But Friday, inside a second floor apartment, a baby girl went into cardiac arrest and died.

The tragedy led investigators to question the baby's mother, 19-year-old Sheila Troutman, along with her live-in boyfriend Everett Sheppard, 22.

Officers have arrested Sheppard and charged him with sexually assaulting the infant.

"I doubt that – not him," neighbor Vivian Romero said. "It's a baby, and if that's their child, I don't believe that."

It's an unthinkable crime, and neighbors find it unbelievable.

"It's crazy, it's crazy, it's crazy. It really is," Bilal Muhammad said. "I can't even fathom that. I can't even fathom any human being doing that to a child. I really can't."

Muhammad knows Sheppard, a young man he says has never been in trouble with the law. He often spoke about making a better life for himself and his family and was going to school, according to neighbors.

"From what I know of him, he's a beautiful person," Muhammad said. "He's not the type of person who would do something like that to a child."

Investigators are still waiting for autopsy results to determine what exactly killed the 10-month-old child.

The girl's 2-year-old sibling was taken into custody by the Division of Youth and Family Services and found to be in good physical condition.

The baby's mother has not yet been charged.

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(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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