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A shocking case has reached its conclusion as Jesse Allen Sartin is sentenced to 35 years in prison, followed by five years of probation, for the horrific death of toddler Caroline Ruth Boggs. Tragically, the young girl succumbed to severe injuries after Sartin violently shook her, leading to catastrophic head trauma. The Dearborn-Ohio Counties Prosecutor’s Office in Indiana outlined the details of this harrowing crime in a recent press release.
Sartin’s guilty plea to aggravated battery resulting in death, classified as a level 1 felony, highlights the severity of his actions. This case brings to light the devastating consequences of such violent behavior towards vulnerable individuals, sparking a broader conversation on child safety and protection.
The tragic events unfolded last July, when Sartin was entrusted with the care of 20-month-old Caroline, the daughter of his pregnant fiancée. During this time, he shook her with such force that she lost consciousness. An affidavit, reviewed by Oxygen, detailed the extent of the toddler’s injuries, which included brain hemorrhaging, retinal bleeding, and significant brain damage. Emergency surgery was required to remove part of Caroline’s skull, during which she tragically suffered cardiac arrest. The situation worsened as her brain later herniated and leaked from her ears.
The investigation concluded that Caroline’s death on August 1 was a homicide, with injuries that matched those caused by shaken baby syndrome. This heartbreaking case underscores the critical need for awareness and prevention of such tragedies in the future.
Caroline’s Aug. 1 death was ruled a homicide, per the affidavit, with injuries consistent with “shaken baby syndrome.”
When police were dispatched to the hospital in reference to a suspicious injury, they spoke to Sartin, who claimed, per the affidavit, that one of the family dogs had knocked Caroline off a stool while he prepared a bottle in another room. Sartin claimed in the doc that the girl was bleeding from the mouth and crying, then went limp and fell unconscious, so he picked up her mother from work and headed to the hospital.
Doctors told police however, as cited in the affidavit, that Caroline’s injuries were consistent with child abuse, and not a fall, as Sartin claimed.
Later, Sartin allegedly admitted to police that he violently shook Caroline because she refused to get out of the bathtub while acting “aggressively” and flailing her arms, according to the affidavit, though Sartin continued to stick to the dog story.
During Sartin’s trial, prosecutors read aloud from a letter that Sartin allegedly wrote Caroline’s mother, explaining how he harmed her daughter in the bathroom.
“Once the bubbles were gone, I drained the water and put her toys away,” Dearborn County detective Jeremy Shepherd read from the letter in a video published by Fox 19. “I tried to pull her out, but she didn’t want to get out, screaming and swinging her arms…she kept pulling away and I was getting upset.”
Sartin allegedly added in the letter, “Baby, I’m so sorry. I shook her trying to get her to calm down.”