Montgomery County Man Allegedly Ripped Teeth Out Of Autistic Boy, DA Says

A man has been charged with assaulting a 4-year-old boy with autism, including pulling three of his teeth out, while baby-sitting him last summer.

Nicholas Kernechel, 27, was charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child, among other charges, Montgomery County officials announced Monday.

According to police, on July 19 the boy’s distraught mother arrived at the Upper Perkiomen Police Department with her child in tow and carrying his removed teeth in a sandwich bag.

When police went to talk to the autistic boy in August, the toddler told them Kernechel “hit and take them [his teeth] out.’ The childalso added the boyfriend ‘was not nice” to him. Kernechel left the boy “in his bed, bleeding and crying and failed to tell his mother about the injuries until she returned to the apartment in the early-morning hours”, police told FOX 29.

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman characterized the alleged incident as “one of the most horrific cases of child abuse that we’ve seen in a very long time”.

The boy is autistic and was apparently not doing what Kernechel wanted him to do, according to CBS Philly. “(The child) had obvious and severe facial and dental injuries, including an extremely swollen upper lip, a bloody upper gum line and bruises all over his face.

Ferman said investigators have not determined what Kernechel allegedly used to rip out the child’s three upper teeth although all three teeth showed markings indicating some instrument was used.

According to prosecutors, the incident occurred the night of July 18, when the 4-year-old was in the sole care of Kernechel, who was tasked with watching the boy, his girlfriend’s son, while she was out.

Kernechel “did not abuse the child and intends to establish that at trial”, he said. If he does post bail, he can not contact the boy or the boy’s mother.A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday before District Judge Catherine Hummel-Fried. She found the boy “asleep on the floor, lying on top of dried blood”, authorities said.

When questioned, Kernechel initially told detectives he didn’t know how the boy sustained the injuries but acknowledged he was alone with the child while his girlfriend went out with friends on July 18, according to the arrest affidavit.

The boy allegedly told authorities Kernechel bit him and hit him.