CLEARFIELD-Bail for a Clearfield man accused of assaulting a two-year-old was discussed in Clearfield County Court Tuesday.
Robert J. Misho, 28, 117 Smith St., Clearfield, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and endangering the welfare of children.
The charges stem from an incident on April 21 in Clearfield Borough. According to information given at his preliminary hearing, a hospital report said the victim had a total of 72 bruises on her body. It was determined that these were the result of a beating by an adult. After his hearing Misho’s bail was increased from $50,000 to $100,000.
Tuesday Misho’s attorney, Anne Marie Mancuso, filed a motion to reduce his bail. She told Judge Paul Cherry that his family is supporting him and suggested he be put on electronic home monitoring. She stated he has a home waiting for him in Apollo.
Cherry noted that the motion includes information that Misho is a life-long resident of Clearfield County which is not accurate if he had previously lived in Apollo.
Assistant District Attorney Ryan Dobo stated that Misho “is a threat to society”. He said electronic monitoring was not enough in this case. He reminded the judge how serious the injuries were. Dobo said he felt $100,000 bail was appropriate.
Cherry did grant the motion but lowered Misho’s bail only to $75,000. Misho remains incarcerated.
During the preliminary hearing, the child’s mother testified that after she got out of the shower that day she heard her daughter crying. When she checked on her, she found her holding her head in her hand. The girl had a bruise on the top of her forehead.
Misho, who lived with her, came into the room. He admitted he slapped her and she fell into the crib, she testified. But he didn’t want her to take the girl to the hospital because he was afraid he’d go to jail. They decided to just watch her overnight. The next morning the bruising was worse and the mother took her to the emergency room at Penn Highlands Clearfield.
A doctor ordered x-rays and a CAT scan for the child. The mother spoke with police officers and a caseworker from Clearfield County Children and Youth Services. She changed her story several times before she said Misho slapped the girl causing her to fall. She hit the crib and a wall before hitting the floor.
Elizabeth Frailey, a caseworker with CYS testified that she met with the victim’s mother at the hospital. She saw the bruises on the girl’s face including her cheeks, and forehead. The girl was transferred to Geisinger Medical Center because doctors wanted to be sure she had no underlying injuries.
Frailey said the doctor at Geisinger told her the girl was very lucky as the injuries could have been life threatening. Photos of the girl taken before she was released from Geisinger showed a severely bruised face. Frailey became emotional while looking at these pictures.
Both the child and her 8-year-old brother are now in foster care, Frailey said.
Officer Nathan Curry of the Clearfield Borough Police testified that he spoke with Misho who showed up at the police station on his own. Curry stated that while he was being interviewed, Misho said he was disgusted with himself and that he deserved to rot in hell for hurting the girl. When shown a photo of the injuries on the left side of the girl’s face, Misho said “I own that.”
Misho told him he struck the girl with the back of his hand after she dropped a plate. This caused her to strike the crib and the wall before falling on the floor. Misho commented that he didn’t know his own strength, Curry said. He also asked how much time he would get for this.
Toward the end of the hearing, Misho’s head was down and he appeared to be crying.
