CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Palm Coast man sentenced to 20 years prison for aggravated child abuse of his son

News-Journal - 1/11/2022

A Palm Coast man found guilty of abusing his young son during a six-week period, causing the child to suffer a fractured skull and a severe burn, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Deviaun Toler, 30, was being held at the Flagler County jail on Monday awaiting transfer to a state prison to begin his sentence.

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced Toler on Friday to 20 years in state prison followed by 10 years probation during a hearing held on Zoom.

Perkins sentenced Toler to 10 years to be served consecutively on each of two counts of aggravated child abuse. One count was for the burn suffered by the child and the other for the skull fracture and brain injury.

Perkins sentenced Toler to five years probation to be served consecutively each on one count of child neglect causing great bodily harm or permanent disfigurement and one count of child abuse.

Crime news: Palm Coast man faces up to 80 years in prison after child abuse conviction

Deputies: Deltona man uses aluminum bat to beat his 2 daughters during drunken rages

Toler's defense attorney, John Hager, asked for a sentence at the bottom of the sentencing guidelines, which called for nearly 15 years in prison.

Hager said Toler had never been to prison. He said the incident was out of character for Toler who was described as a positive person and participated in community projects.

"This six weeks of his life that he had a child that he was ill-equipped to care for is an out-of-characteristic, horribly out-of-characteristic thing that happened in Mr. Toler, his life, as well as (the child's) life," Hager said during sentencing.

Hager said Toler did not testify during sentencing because he planned to appeal.

Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark had asked for a 30-year prison sentence followed by 30 years probation.

"This little boy, a 20-month-old, was tortured for being a toddler," Clark said during at the sentencing hearing. "He was a little boy, as many are at that age, that didn't sit still. And he would get into things. He was climbing into the pantry and Deviaun Toler was frustrated and took out his frustration on that baby. And he did that with a belt, with a switch. If you recall, there was even a blackened eye."

The child continues to need therapy and has been adopted by a loving family, Clark said. She said the child has difficulty with everyday tasks such as holding crayons or pencils and also has difficulty keeping his balance.

"Then he caused this horrific burn to him and instead of taking him to the doctor, he deals with it at home because he doesn't want anybody to know what he's been doing," Clark said.

Clark said Toler finally took the child to the hospital because he had no choice since otherwise the child would have died.

After Toler brought the child to AdventHealth Palm Coast in February 2018, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office began investigating. Hospital staff found that the child had a fractured skull and brain swelling and "severe injuries all over his body, including bruising to his chest, back and a burn to his arm," according to an arrest report.

The child suffered "a large burn from the top of his right shoulder down the entirety of his right arm" that caused the child "permanent disfigurement and great bodily harm," according to a charging affidavit.

Toler also used a belt and a tree branch to cause "numerous scarred and open lacerations" on the child's buttocks, a charging affidavit stated.

While the boy was being cared for at the hospital, Toler sent a text message to the child's biological mother, who had said she missed the child.

"And the defendant's response while his little boy was being cared for in the hospital: 'LOL, I bet you won't say that when you get him back. I will be happy to give him back to you.' This is while (the child) is fighting for his life," Clark said.

©2022 www.news-journalonline.com. Visit news-journalonline.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.