(Lomira) A four day jury trial has been scheduled for a father charged for his alleged role in mistreating a child who died in Lomira. Frank Pleester is facing three felony counts of Neglecting a Child Consequence is Bodily Harm and a misdemeanor charge of Resisting.
Jamie Hildebrandt was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2021 in connection to her son’s death. The 36-year-old admitted to stepping on the infant after laying him on the bathroom floor to reach for more diapers and forgetting he was there in March of 2020.
The autopsy report concluded that there were multiple blunt force injuries to the child’s head, chest, and back. According to the complaint, the young victim was seriously neglected before his death.
Dodge County authorities say Hildebrandt treated him differently from other children in the household, often excluding him from family events, and physically tortured him. The child was neglected medically, as both parents reportedly failed to bring him in for doctor appointments. He was also chronically malnourished at the time of his death.
State prosecutors say Pleester knew of Hildebrandt’s actions towards the child and failed to act. An alleged text conversation between Pleester and a relative of Hildebrandt just months before the infant’s death suggested he knew she was neglecting his child.
He was also allegedly aware that Hildebrandt used drugs which affected her ability to care for the baby. Pleester reportedly denied knowing any of this when he was first interviewed by investigators but later admitted he did.
If convicted, the 37-year-old faces just over 18 years behind bars. The trial is slated to begin September 30th.
