McKinney pleads guilty to child abuse charges

A Topeka teen has changed his plea to guilty regarding child abuse charges in connection with an April incident involving a 7-month-old Holton boy, according to Jackson County District Court records.

Sentencing for Koylen McKinney, 18, was set for 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 23 in district court after McKinney, during a Dec. 12 pre-trial motion hearing in advance of a scheduled mid-January trial, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated battery, abuse of a child and aggravated endangerment of a child. McKinney had originally pleaded not guilty to the three charges in September.

Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller said McKinney could face from 62 to 69 months of prison time on the battery charge, from 31 to 34 months on the abuse charge and from five to seven months on the endangerment charge. Those sentences could run concurrently or consecutively, she added.

McKinney was arrested in April on the three charges after an incident that reportedly occurred at the Southview apartment complex in which a 7-month-old boy was reported to have difficulty breathing and was unresponsive.

At the time of the incident and his arrest, McKinney was 17 years old, but he agreed in August to waive his juvenile status and be tried as an adult.

The infant was airlifted to a Kansas City hospital after the incident, where he remained in critical condition for several weeks, it was reported. Miller said the infant “continues to suffer from his permanent and debilitating injuries,” adding that more details of his condition will likely be released at McKinney’s sentencing hearing.

On Nov. 25, prosecutors filed a motion for “aggravated upward departure” in McKinney’s sentencing, which Miller said could have “up to doubled his presumed sentence” and could only be imposed by a jury. By changing his pleas to guilty, McKinney “avoids that possibility,” she added.