Tuesday, May 29th, 2007


A 17-year-old Richland boy was arrested Tuesday for his alleged first-
degree rape of a 9-month-old baby.

Richland police Capt. Mike Cobb said officers, who were at Kadlec
Medical Center on an unrelated call, were alerted at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday
by hospital employees, who were treating the baby boy for severe
injuries from the sexual assault.

Cobb said the baby was sent to a Spokane-area hospital.

Police are not releasing the name the baby, so his condition was not
available Tuesday evening.

The 17-year-old, who taken to the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Justice
Center, was babysitting the boy.

Cobb said the baby's mother left the child with the teenager for about
five to six hours while she attended a holiday barbecue.

The woman called paramedics about 11:20 p.m. after she returned home.

The teenager had previously babysat the boy, Cobb said.