Teen Suspects Charged as Adults in Acid Burning of Toddler

I have been following this story for nearly a week now. Initially the police were going to charge the two suspects, both 16, as juviniles, but that State's Attorney has announced the two will face charges as adults.

The two teenage boys charged earlier this week as juveniles in the chemical burning of a toddler at a Baltimore County playground will face adult charges, the county state's attorney said yesterday.

Kyle Bradley Meredith and Mateusz Stefan Dybala, both 16 and from the Essex area, will be charged as adults with first-degree assault, county State's Attorney Scott D. Shellenberger said.

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The new charges were the result of physical evidence found at the playground and analyzed by a crime lab, Shellenberger said. He would not elaborate on the nature of that evidence.

"We look at the law, follow evidence and do what we think is right," Shellenberger said. "The decision made on Monday, in light of the evidence, was right, and the decision that's being made now, in light of the evidence, is also right."

The little boy who was burned, who will turn three years old next month, has undergone at least two skin graft surgeries at Johns Hopkins hospital. Aside from initial comments made earlier this week, the parents of the boy have made no public comment.

In Maryland, the maximum penalty for first-degree assault is 25 years in prison. Previously, the suspects were charged as minors because first-degree assualt requires that the state prove an intent to cause injury. I don't know what the physical evidence the state's attorney is talking about, but the evidence must point to some intent to cause injury otherwise the state's attorney would be unlikely to risk the higher charges.

Of course, a plea bargain is not out of the question and it could simply be posturing. But something tells me that these teenagers are going to see some jail time.