Kansas man pleads guilty to abusing infant daughter, causing severe brain injuries
By KAKE News
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LARNED, Kansas (KAKE) — A 28-year-old central Kansas man has pleaded guilty to abusing his 4-month-old daughter last year, an incident that left her with developmental disabilities and blindness.
Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett said Derek Degado pleaded guilty on Thursday to felony child abuse, and his sentencing is scheduled for November 23. McNett said the child’s family opposed the plea agreement and asked that the court reject it and require the matter to advance to trial.
The child was in critical condition when she was flown from Pawnee Valley Community Hospital to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita on October 9, 2025. A court document said the baby’s mother fed her daughter around 4:30 a.m. and placed her back in the parents’ bed in a U-shaped pillow. She left her Larned home for work at around 6 a.m. About an hour later, she discovered that the child’s father, Delgado, had texted her at 6:54 a.m. indicating that he had awoken on top of the girl and that she seemed limp and wouldn’t hold her head up or kick.
“When the mother arrived home, she found the child lying on their bed struggling to breathe with Delgado shining his cellphone flashlight in the child’s eyes. They then transported the child by private vehicle to PVCH in Larned, Kansas. After being intubated, the child was life-watched to Wichita,” McNett said.
Delgado told the medical providers, law enforcement and the Kansas Department for Children and Families that he woke up sometime after 6 a.m., tried to feed his daughter and fell back asleep. He did not know how long he was asleep before he woke up on top of the infant.
Dr. Kerri Weeks with the University of Kansas School of Medicine said that while the observed symptoms could be caused by the described asphyxiation, brain scans revealed brain injuries, which, in her medical opinion, were caused by rapid acceleration and deceleration from either high-force trauma or shaking, rather than crushing trauma as described by the father.
Due to the brain injury, the child is considered legally blind, and testimony stated that she is not meeting her developmental milestones as expected by an average child her age.
“At the time of sentencing, the State agrees to join in a defense Motion for Dispositional Departure to a non-prison sanction based on the substantial and compelling reason that the societal goal of offender reformation would best be served by requiring the defendant to (a) provide financial assistance and support towards the victim’s ongoing rehabilitation and care expenses, and (b) complete all currently recommended family/parenting support and mental health services,” McNett said in a release.
This means that if the judge approves the motion, Delgado will not go to prison. However, the victim’s family has the right to present alternative sentencing recommendations.
Delgado was remanded to the custody of the Pawnee County Jail. He’s being held without bond pending sentencing.
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