Parents charged with felony child neglect after infant suffers skull fracture

A 21-year-old Antigo man has been charged with neglecting a child (consequence is bodily harm), as party to the crime, in connection with injuries sustained by his infant child late last year.

John Young Haygood made his initial appearance in Oneida County Circuit Court last Friday afternoon at which time district attorney Jillian Pfeifer explained that the child in question was injured back in December 2023.

“This was finally charged out because we had to wait for medical records,” she explained.

According to court records, the child’s mother, 19-year-old Sierra R. Anderson of Minocqua, is facing the same felony charge as Haygood. However, she’s not scheduled to appear in court until July 22.

According to Pfeifer, the child, who is under a year old, suffered a skull fracture in December. 

The criminal complaint states an investigation began after the Minocqua Police Department received a reported that there was an infant in the emergency room in Minocqua with serious injuries.

The parents and child were living in Minocqua at the time.

The child was later transferred to Marshfield for further treatment.

“The defendant and the mother of the child could not provide an explanation that fit the injuries that the child had sustained,” Pfeifer told Judge Mike Bloom.

According to the complaint, Haygood told investigators the child fell from a couch while in his care.

The criminal complaint also indicates that prior to the December incident, the parents had, on more than one occasion, failed to take the child for follow-up pediatrician appointments related to issues involving inadequate weight gain.

Pfeifer told the court the child was treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Marshfield where a child abuse specialist conducted an evaluation that suggested the injuries were the result of “intentional abuse/trauma.”

Bloom set a $750 cash bail and scheduled an adjourned initial apparence for Aug. 5. As conditions of bond, Haygood must cooperate with the Department of Social Services and adhere to any order emanating from children’s court related to the infant. 

The child is currently being cared for by others, according to statements made during the bail hearing.