Trigger Warning: Child Abuse
Man Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse, Cruelty to His 6-Week-Old in 2024
NORFOLK, Va. — William Robert Lee Jr., 28, pleaded guilty last month to child abuse and neglect as well as child cruelty after he was investigated for shaking and otherwise injuring his 6-week-old baby last year.
Mr. Lee is suspected of having shaken his 6-week-old son on Nov. 16, 2024, while his wife was out of the house for the morning and he was caring for the baby alone. Mr. Lee took the baby to the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters that day around 3 p.m. after he noticed the baby was having seizures and was cold to the touch. Doctors diagnosed the baby as having intercranial hemorrhaging — the symptoms which they determined would have begun that afternoon and during the time when Mr. Lee was alone with the baby — and a broken leg. Based on their findings, hospital social workers reported Mr. Lee to Norfolk Police. During the investigation, Mr. Lee and his wife disclosed that they had sought treatment for the baby at a different hospital on Nov. 4, 2024, after Mr. Lee pulled on the baby’s leg hard enough that he heard a “popping” noise while changing his diaper. At the time, the baby was prescribed a painkiller, but no X-rays or other steps were taken to determine whether the leg had been broken.
While the baby was being treated at CHKD, a forensic nurse conducted a child abuse consultation by both observing the baby and reviewing his medical records. In her findings, the nurse described the baby’s hemorrhaging as having been the result of “rotational, acceleration/deceleration forces to the brain” and the leg injury “the result of forceful pulling and twisting.” The nurse further described the baby’s injuries as exceeding the amount of force “used in normal prudent parenting.” In speaking with police investigators, Mr. Lee admitted to trying to wake the baby by “rolling” him in his crib without supporting his head, but the findings of the forensic nurse suggested that Mr. Lee was understating his actions.
On Oct. 27, Mr. Lee entered an agreement to plead guilty to felony child abuse and neglect as well as cruelty resulting in injuries to a child, both felonies. In exchange for Mr. Lee’s guilty pleas, the Commonwealth withdrew two additional, related charges against Mr. Lee. There was no agreement as to the sentence Mr. Lee faces. Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted Mr. Lee’s plea agreement, found him guilty of his two charges, and set his sentencing hearing on Jan. 16, 2026.
“Babies are vulnerable and innocent, and parents owe their children love and protection, not pain,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Lee hurt his own son in ways that most parents find incomprehensibly cruel, and at sentencing we will recommend a sanction that fits his offenses. Never shake a child.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jessica L. Terkovich is prosecuting Mr. Lee’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Stephanie J. Lupo led the investigation.
If you and/or someone you love are a victim of a crime — including but not limited to child abuse — resources are available at the Norfolk Family Justice Center. For more information, please visit norfolkfjc.org, call 757-330-0376, or stop by the NFJC located at 835 Glenrock Road, Suite 100, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays. If you are in crisis, call the 24/7 hotline by dialing 757-251-0144. In an emergency, please call 911.
###