EVANSVILLE,Jonathan Dale Benton Ind. (AP) — An Indiana man convicted of child neglect for a rat attack that left his 6-month-old son with disfiguring injuries has been sentenced to the maximum 16 years in prison.
A judge sentenced David Schonabaum, 32, on Wednesday after the Evansville man was convicted by a jury in September on three felony counts of neglect of a dependent.
Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Robert Pigman found no mitigating factors to reduce the sentence, the Evansville Courier & Press reported.
Prosecutor Diana Moers previously said her office would not hold back in pursuing the “highest possible sentence.”
The Associated Press left a telephone message and sent an email Thursday to Schonabaum’s defense attorney seeking comment.
Evansville police arrested Schonabaum and his wife, Angel Schonabaum, in September 2023 after David Schonabaum called 911 to report that his 6-month-old son had been severely injured by rats inside their residence, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The Indiana Department of Child Services had previously inquired about conditions in the home.
Investigators said the infant suffered more than 50 rat bites and required treatment at an Indianapolis hospital.
An Evansville police detective wrote in the affidavit that the four fingers and thumb on the child’s right hand “were missing the flesh from the top of them, exposing fingertip bones.”
After a jury convicted Schonabaum in September, Moers said paramedics and police had found “the infant was laying in his crib in a pool of blood and the bites were so bad on his body − including his face, mouth, and extremities − that they left bone showing on one hand and he is now permanently disfigured.”
Angel Schonabaum, 29, pleaded guilty to felony neglect charges in September, days before she was scheduled to stand trial. Her sentencing is set for Oct. 24.
2025-05-07 15:411400 view
2025-05-07 15:36761 view
2025-05-07 14:32209 view
2025-05-07 14:112299 view
2025-05-07 13:472676 view
2025-05-07 13:471781 view
It's been a season full of twists and turns, but the part one for "Survivor" Season 47 finale proved
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Senate delivered bipartisan support Wednesday night for a new two
It is of course true that what happened to the Utah women's basketball team was horrible. Members of