LARNED, Kan. – Derek Damon Delgado, 28 of Larned, Kansas, appeared Monday afternoon in the Pawnee County District Court before Magistrate Judge Julie Cowell regarding an allegation of Felony Child Abuse.
The criminal case stems from a joint investigation by the Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Children Unit, Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Larned Police Department after a four-month-old infant was airlifted in critical condition on October 9, 2025, from the Pawnee Valley Community Hospital (PVCH) to Wesley Medical Center.
By agreement of the parties, the Preliminary Hearing was bifurcated into two settings. On April 14, 2026, the Court heard testimony from the child’s mother and the investigating law enforcement officers. On Monday, the Court heard the testimony of staff from Wesley Medical Center, Dr. Kerri Weeks of the University of Kansas School of Medicine and the DCF investigator.
The child’s mother testified that she had fed the infant around 4:30 a.m. and placed the child back in the parent’s bed in U shaped pillow and then left the family’s Larned residence for her job sometime before 6:00 a.m.. Shortly after 7:00 a.m., she discovered that the child’s father, Derek Delgado, had texted her at 6:54 a.m. indicating that he had awoken on top of the child and the child seemed limp and wouldn’t hold her head up or kick. The mother made a quick call to Delgado and rushed home to find the child lying on their bed struggling to breathe with Delgado shining his cellphone flashlight in the child’s eyes. They then transported the child by private vehicle to PVCH in Larned, Kansas. After being intubated, the child was life watched to Wichita. Delgado told the medical providers, law enforcement personnel and DCF that he woke up sometime after 6:00 a.m., attempted to feed the child and subsequently fell back asleep. He did not know how long he was asleep before he woke up on top of the child.
Dr. Kerri Weeks of the University of Kansas School of Medicine testified that the extent of the child’s injuries is not consistent with the father’s explanation of events. While some of the observed symptoms could be caused by the described asphyxiation, the child’s multiple brain scans revealed diffuse axonal brain injuries in several locations which is the shearing of nerve fibers in the brain.
The doctor further testified that this type of injury in infants is caused by rapid acceleration and deceleration from either high force trauma or shaking. The doctor also identified an injury in the epidural of the child’s lower spine column which would be consistent with shaking. The mother testified that the family has been advised that due to the brain injury the child will be considered legally blind and that her daughter is not currently meeting her developmental milestones such as sitting up or holding up her head unsupported as expected by an average ten-month-old.
The State originally charged Delgado on December 18, 2025, with a single Count of Reckless Child Abuse. Following the presentation of evidence, Magistrate Judge Julie Cowell found the State presented sufficient evidence to support two charges: (1) Abuse of a Child – Recklessly cause Great Bodily Harm, Permanent Disability or Disfigurement, a severity level 4 person felony; and (2) Abuse of a Child – Knowingly cause Great Bodily Harm, Permanent Disability or Disfigurement, a severity level 4 person felony.
Under Kansas law, a person acts “recklessly” or is “reckless,” when such person consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that a result will follow, and such disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation. A person acts “knowingly,” or “with knowledge,” with respect to the nature of such person’s conduct or to circumstances surrounding such person’s conduct when such person is aware of the nature of such person’s conduct or that the circumstances exist. A person acts “knowingly,” or “with knowledge,” with respect to a result of such person’s conduct when such person is aware that such person’s conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result.
If convicted, under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines the defendant faces a presumptive prison sentence between 55 months and 247 months in the custody of the Department of Corrections depending on his criminal history.
Arraignment is scheduled for June 25, 2026.
Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett presented the State’s case. Delgado was represented by Jon McConnel of Wichita, Kansas.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
