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Child abuse reminds us that horrors can happen here at home

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 31, 2009

A lot's on people's minds these days: lost jobs, decreased hours, national issues, local issues. It permeates just about everything. Then something so tragic happens that it shakes us to the core and makes us realize almost all the other things are trivial. That's what we realized when 22-month-old Kaedyn Short died this week after suffering fatal abuse.

Kaedyn had been in critical condition since March 29, when law enforcement was called to Highlands Regional Hospital to investigate Kaedyn's severe head injuries. Former Avon Park Police officer James Parker was arrested for suspected abuse in the case.

Kaedyn suffered a skull fracture and numerous injuries to her head. She was on life support until she died this week in a hospice.

The state attorney is waiting for autopsy information to return before possibly upgrading Parker's charges to include murder. Doctors believe signs of earlier abuse on Kaedyn is evident, and that's also part of the investigation.

All we know for sure at this time is that this precious little girl suffered grievous abuse. Violence of this nature is incomprehensible to most of us because how a human can commit such an act against a defenseless child just doesn't register. On no level can we imagine a heart so dark to inflict pain and death on a little girl.

Parker deserves his day in court and an assumption of innocence, just like any American deserves. But if he did this, he deserves the harshest penalty our justice system can mete out.

We all have problems we're dealing with in our everyday lives. Perhaps they keep us up at night, worrying what the next day brings. But all those problems pale in comparison to the nightmare that Kaedyn's family is going through right now, and the suffering she went through. They should know our hearts go out to them.

Kaedyn's short life reminds us that abuse isn't limited to big cities or faraway places. Such horrors are found right here at home by people we might never suspect. It also reminds us to keep our eyes and ears open, and try our hardest to keep this from happening again.

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