Cathedral City Woman Convicted Of Child Cruelty For Staying Silent

A Cathedral City woman was convicted of felon child cruelty for remaining silent about her husband burning and beating their 10- month old daughter, a prosecutor said today.

Jurors deliberated about seven hours before convicting 21-year-old Robyn Davis of allowing her husband, 22-year-old Shaymon Davis, to hurt the girl.

The father was convicted of three felonies, including inflicting injury on a child and willful child cruelty, and sentenced last month to 10 years in prison.

The defendant, free on a $10,000 bond, was ordered to return to court April 22 for sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Chris Ross said.

The woman, who has no criminal history, could face up to six years in prison, Ross said.

She testified Monday that she did not think her husband hurt their daughter on purpose.

“I felt when he was playing with her, he played a little too rough for a kid her age and I told him that,” she said.

The prosecution said during trial that Robyn Davis knew it would be dangerous to leave her husband alone with their child, but did so anyway on Sept. 6, 2009, after which the baby was found to have burns over 15 percent of her body, bruises and broken ribs.

“She willfully permitted the child to be placed in a situation where the child’s health or person was endangered,” Ross told City News Service recently. “You are endangering the child.”

Robyn Davis twice filed for restraining orders against her husband, claiming he physically abused her and the child and put a knife to her throat, according to court records.

Prosecutors say she was aware Shaymon Davis had been drinking and knew he had beaten an ex-girlfriend.

“She knows this guy had been bruising her child, bruising her, he was violent and poses a risk to hurting her child,” Ross alleged. “And she disregarded that known risk.”

Prosecutors say the baby was fine when Shaymon Davis dropped off his wife at work the morning of Sept. 6. But after she returned home that afternoon and all three awoke from a nap, the baby had contact burns on her body.

The baby also had three rib fractures, head and eye injuries and multiple bruises about her face, legs and forehead, according to authorities.

A child abuse specialist testified that the burns on the child show that she had come in contact with a hot surface at least four times and that the burns were not caused by a rash, bacteria or liquid.