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Man Sentenced For Leaving 1-Year-Old Son In Wilderness With Broken Leg, Cracked Skull And Meth In His System
Brandon Michael Blouin was out looking for the boy's mother when he decided to leave 13-month old Bradley Thomas and carry on the search alone.
An Ohio father who abandoned his injured 1-year-old son in the Oregon wilderness last year while looking for the child's mother will get prison time.
After a massive search last May, the baby, Bradley Thomas, was found naked and alone with a broken leg, a cracked skull and methamphetamine in his system.
The boy’s father, 26-year-old Brandon Michael Blouin of Belpre, Ohio, entered an Alford plea for first-degree criminal mistreatment, endangering the welfare of a minor, and being a felon in possession of body armor. In exchange, charges of custodial interference, child neglect and abandonment of a child were dismissed, WSBT reports. Now, he will only have to serve about two and a half years behind bars, according to the Bulletin, a Central Oregon publication.
Thomas was 13 months old when he was found in the wilderness.
Blouin and the child’s mother reportedly took the boy away from his legal guardian in West Virginia and drove out to a forest area outside Bend, Oregon.
The mother walked away from Blouin and the boy at some point and Blouin left the boy in the forest by himself as he went to search for her.
He eventually reported the boy missing and was taken to the hospital before his son was found.
If the case had gone to trial, Blouin’s attorney had plans to play video of Blouin overcome with emotion after losing his son. He even returned to the search with an IV attached to his arm, according to the Bulletin.
“Defendant was extremely distraught and emotional due to the loss of his son,” a motion, obtained by the Bulletin, reads. “This was not described by police in their reports.”
The boy's mother has not faced any charges.
The massive search to locate the child utilized horses, drones and helicopters. Eventually, the boy was found not far from the couple’s vehicle. It’s not clear how Thomas was injured or how exactly meth ended up in his system. He was taken to an area hospital and is okay, now in custody of his grandmother.
