Steelstown Road in North Newton Township, Pennsylvania, where a father allegedly left his 2-year-old daughter outside for hours during a snow storm (Google Maps).
While a winter storm raged, a 29-year-old Pennsylvania man slept for hours as his 2-year-old girl nearly froze to death outside wearing only a T-shirt and a diaper, cops allege.
Joshua Ryan Kitner is facing charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child for an incident in January in Cumberland County. Local ABC affiliate WHTM reported that temperatures were in the teens and as much as a foot of snow hit parts of the Keystone State.
A probable cause arrest affidavit said Kitner told investigators he woke up around 5 p.m. and found the girl outside his home on Steelstown Road in North Newton Township. He said he believed his daughter may have been locked out of the house when she was letting the dog outside to go to the bathroom. He was the sole adult watching his daughter that day and he later admitted to being hungover from the night before, when he drank eight or nine beers, the affidavit stated.
"Kitner advised the victim was seated on her butt and dozing off," cops wrote. "Kitner further related the victim was cold and her feet/toes were frozen and purple, almost black in color."
Authorities said she was suffering from "severe frostbite." Paramedics rushed her to the hospital. She spent roughly a week in the burn unit. After her release, she needed another month of follow-up doctor's appointments, the affidavit said.
The girl suffered frostbite to her hands and feet. The worst of the frostbite was on her feet, which nearly required surgery.
Troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police filed the charges on Wednesday. He was arrested and taken to the Cumberland County Prison, where he has since posted a $20,000 bond. His next court date is set for May 21.
WHTM reports that two women, ages 27 and 30, were charged with obstructing a Cumberland County Children and Youth Services investigation and failing to comply with a court order related to the case.