Hernandez, 23, gets 15 years for toddler’s mysterious death

The father of a 6-week-old toddler who died under mysterious circumstances has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, joining the baby’s grandmother who is already serving 15 years for the child’s death.

The defendant, Jesus T. Hernandez, 23, entered a no-contest plea before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to the charge of aggravated child neglect and was issued the 15-year sentence. He will be eligible for parole after serving 30 percent of his sentence.

Hernandez faces the charge after he impregnated a 14-year-old mentally challenged girl, the illegal sexual contact permitted by the child’s mother, Susan A. Green, 37, who has already entered a guilty plea to aggravated child abuse and statutory rape charges. Prosecutors say Green was criminally responsible for first allowing the affair to happen under her roof and second, for failing to look out for the safety and welfare of the baby which was born to her mentally challenged daughter.

It was shortly after the teen gave birth that the baby was found dead inside the couple’s Pepper Branch Road home. While investigators have never reached a positive cause of death, pathologists suggested the baby died from asphyxiation. The prevailing theories are that one of the parents rolled over on the child while sleeping in the same bed or that a blanket was thrown over the baby’s head, depriving it of enough oxygen.

The teen mother of the child was originally to be charged for the death. However, her young age and mental status prompted lawmen not to pursue charges against the youth.