Alleged infant assault nets more charges

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July 3, 2009

By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG The Press Republican Sat Jul 04, 2009, 12:33 AM EDT

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CHAMPLAIN — A grand jury has indicted a Champlain couple for their alleged abuse of their infant son.

Shaun Foster and Elizabeth Fair were first arrested in April after their year-old son was hospitalized with a dislocated and fractured arm.

Authorities believe the 25-year-old father pulled on the infant so hard it caused the boy's injuries.

During the State Police investigation, the couple allegedly tried to cover up the cause of the injuries and were evasive during questioning.

Police later lodged an assault charge against Foster and cited both parents with endangering the welfare of their son.

Now, a Clinton County grand jury has returned a string of charges against the couple for allegedly causing and lying about the boy's injuries.

Foster was indicted on more than a dozen charges, including four felony counts of assault and two counts of reckless endangerment.

He was also charged with perjury for allegedly lying during his grand-jury testimony and giving conflicting accounts about how the injuries came about.

He is still being held at Clinton County Jail on $50,000 bail.

Fair, 22, is facing a total of six charges, including the felony offense of reckless endangerment.

Police believe both parents were home when the boy was injured, which contributed to the additional charges against his mother.

Fair has since been released on bail and is due back in court at a later date to face the allegations.

Both Foster and Fair have pleaded not guilty.

Their son was briefly hospitalized at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington and continues to recover.

He is now in foster care under the custody of Vermont child-protective officials.

E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at: avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com