By BRIAN KELLY
Herald Writer
COUPEVILLE — A 34-year-old Langley man will be arraigned Friday in Island County Superior Court after being charged with two felony counts of first-degree child assault.
Prosecutors say Brian C. Webb hurt his 4-month-old daughter the night of Aug. 5 when he shook the baby because she was noisy. The next day, when Webb drove to the Clinton ferry dock to pick up April Wallace, his fiance and the baby’s mother, she called 911 after seeing the baby.
Ferry traffic was delayed for more than six hours as emergency workers provided aid to the girl and a medical transport helicopter was brought in to take the baby from the ferry dock to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Webb allegedly told Wallace and authorities at the scene that he had shaken the baby. Doctors at Harborview examined the child and said she had brain injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome, according to court documents. There was also evidence of an older brain injury that could have been caused by violent shaking.
Webb, a carpentry contractor, has been charged for the alleged assault on Aug. 5, and also for another assault that occurred sometime between April and August.
The baby has since had three surgeries to relieve swelling of her brain, her mother said. The girl was released from the hospital Aug. 24 and is at home with her mother.
"She is improving; she’s doing well," Wallace said.
Steven Selby, chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney for Island County, said Webb, if convicted, could face a standard sentencing range of nine to 12 years.
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