RICHMOND, Ky. (WKYT) – A Richmond father is behind bars after being charged with first-degree child abuse on Sunday.
The Richmond Police Department responded to a call in the Mount Rushmore Drive area to investigate a report of an unsupervised small child clad only in a diaper walking alone in the vicinity of a busy roadway.
Several witnesses at the scene said that the child had allegedly been alone for 25 minutes, according to court documents. They said they tried to make contact with the child, but the child ran away and appeared non-verbal.
The child’s father, 38-year-old Timothy Hill, soon pulled up to the scene in his vehicle and confirmed to the police that the child is non-verbal and autistic.
According to court documents, police asked Hill why the child had left the home, and Hill responded that he had gone to the bathroom and that the child had climbed out of a window and escaped. Hill said his child had only been gone for five minutes.
One of the officers at the scene asked Hill to inspect the home. Hill gave permission but was allegedly nervous and then sped away from the scene.
An officer said that Hill quickly parked at his home, left the child in his vehicle and ran inside.
According to court documents, Hill repeated the story to police that the child had gotten out through a window while he was in the bathroom but had been able to find the child in five minutes.
Officers noted that Hill allegedly was sweating and that his pupils were dilated. They asked Hill if there was marijuana inside the home, to which Hill said there was.
After finding the marijuana, Hill denied officers permission to search any other area of the home.
According to court documents, police obtained a warrant and found suspected methamphetamine and paraphernalia in the home.
Hill is also charged with one count of tampering with physical evidence and several counts of drug and paraphernalia possession.
He is being held on a $ 5,000 bond at the Madison County Detention Center. No court date has been set for Hill.
