(KNZA)--A Hiawatha man has been convicted on charges in a local child abuse case.

Brown County Attorney Kevin Hill says following a bench trial Monday, District Judge John Weingart found 25-year-old Frankie Rodriquez guilty on charges of aggravated battery and felony child abuse.

Sentencing was set for the morning of March 6th.

During the bench trial, Hill presented extensive testimony from Dr. Emily Killough, a pediatric child abuse expert at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Dr. Killough reviewed 13 graphic photographs of the injuries sustained by the two-year-old victim who was left in Rodriguez’ care along with the findings of a CT scan of the child’s brain. Dr. Killough then described the blunt force trauma that caused the child’s brain injuries.
 
Investigator Beau Hasenohr with the Hiawatha Police Department testified that after initially denying striking the child, Rodriguez admitted to investigators that after becoming upset with the child for not eating, he slammed the back of her chair to the floor, causing the child’s head to hit the floor. After the child stood up attempting to regain her balance, Rodriguez then struck the child hard in the back of the head, rendering her unconscious.
 
After spending several months at Children’s Mercy Hospital in critical condition, the child was released from the hospital in December.
 
Rodriguez was arrested in late August following an investigation by the Hiawatha Police Department and Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The investigation was launched after the child was brought to the Hiawatha Community Hospital on August 26th with a severe head injury.

Rodriguez remains in the Brown County Jail after his bond was revoked Monday by Judge Weingart following the conclusion of the trial.