Father of Alexis Patterson charged with felony child abuse

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- 40-year-old Kenya Campbell has been charged with physical abuse of an eight-month-old child. Campbell is the biological father of Alexis Patterson, who has been missing since 2002.

Campbell faces the following charges:

A criminal complaint in the case says officers were dispatched to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin regarding an eight-month-old child hospitalized with severe injuries.

A nurse told officials the child was admitted due to bleeding in the mouth and seizure-like behavior, according to the complaint.

A CT scan was performed on the child, which revealed subdural hemorrhaging on the right side of the brain, and trauma to the brain, according to the complaint.

A physical examination of the child revealed bruising on the child's face and chest, bleeding under the tongue, lower lips, and gums, hemorrhaging of the adrenal gland and a fractured jaw, according to the complaint.

The complaint indicates the injuries were consistent with inflicted trauma and child physical abuse.

Officials spoke with the mother of Campbell, and the grandmother of the child, who told officials Campbell left for work on November 22nd around 5:00 a.m. Campbell's mother was home with the child, who was sleeping on her back in the living room. Later that morning, Campbell's mother told officials she heard a boom from the living room, followed by the child crying -- according to the complaint.

The complaint says the baby was found to be bleeding from her mouth and her left eye was deviating, as if she was having a seizure.

The baby was taken by her grandmother to Children's Hospital.

After being confronted with numerous inconsistencies in her story, Campbell's mother eventually admitted she was not being truthful, according to the complaint.

The complaint says Campbell's mother told officials Campbell had woken her up on the morning of November 22nd saying "Mom, the baby fell."

The complaint says when Campbell's mother got up, the child had already cleaned up. Campbell's mother told officials Campbell told her the child fell and busted her lip.

Campbell then left for work, according to the complaint.

The complaint says officials spoke with Campbell, who said the child returned home from daycare around 3:00 p.m. on November 21st, at which time the child appeared to be okay and had no visible injuries on her body. Campbell told officials he was the sole caretaker of the child from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. on the 22nd.

The complaint says Campbell told officials the child was sleeping on the couch when he left for work, and said his mother called him around 7:00, but he did not answer.

The complaint says Campbell told officials he deleted the call log history on his phone.

The complaint says Campbell repeatedly told officials the child had fallen off the couch.

The child was checked over by a pediatric child abuse specialist, who determined that the child was the victim of "a massive, violent assault that could have easily resulted in death" -- according to the complaint.

Campbell made a court appearance in this case on Wednesday, December 4th, where he pleaded not guilty.

In 2009, Campbell was convicted of the felony offense of manufacture/deliver cocaine, and was sentenced to four years in prison.