Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Thursday, July 15, that a Bronx man had been sentenced to 16 years in prison for brutally beating a two-year-old boy in 2018, causing his death.

 

Clark said the defendant mercilessly beat an innocent two-year-old child named Messiah Allen, causing fatal injuries. “The defendant, who was the boyfriend of the child’s mother, attacked him while she was at her job. I hope today’s sentence brings some sense of closure to the family of Messiah,” she said. “The child’s life was cut short in such a cruel manner.”

 

Clark said the defendant, Kenneth Lynch, 39 whose last address was on Bruckner Boulevard in the Soundview was sentenced to 16 years in prison and five years post-release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Jeanette Rodriguez-Morak. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter on May 20, 2021.

 

According to the investigation, on May 24, 2018, Lynch, who was living with his then-girlfriend and her two-year-old son, Messiah, was with the child alone in the apartment as the child’s mother worked in Manhattan. During that time, the defendant inflicted multiple blunt force injuries to the child’s body. Blows to the boy’s torso led to a transected liver, which caused his death. The defendant called 911 and the child was transported to Jacobi Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

 

The case was prosecuted by Danielle Pascale, Deputy Bureau Chief of the child abuse/sex crimes bureau, and assistant district attorney Johnathan Vega of the human trafficking unit, under the supervision of Rachel Ferrari, chief of the child abuse/sex crimes bureau, and under the overall supervision of Joseph Muroff, chief of the special victims division. Clark thanked advocate, Ana Pimentel, of the crime victims assistance unit, NYPD Detective Austin Denio of the 43^rd precinct, NYPD Detective Christine Reyes of the Bronx homicide squad (retired), and FDNY Firefighter Matthew Bland.

 

Norwood News recently reported that the New York State Assembly had passed a bill mandating ongoing training of forensic evaluators of child abuse cases. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 80) has been delivered to the senate. If passed, the eventual law would require court ordered forensic evaluations involving child custody and visitation be a licensed psychologist, social worker or psychiatrist who has completed a training program developed by the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

 

The legislation was accelerated by the tragic death of Kyra Franchetti and other young children who have been murdered by a parent who had been granted custody or visitation, despite known histories of violence and abuse.

 

We also recently published an op-ed on child abuse, including some of the resources available to assist those tho may be in danger, as well as resources for those who are perpetrating violence against children.

 

Listed below are some resources that can be accessed to help support abused and neglected children in The Bronx.

 

https://access.nyc.gov/programs/health-insurance-assistance/

https://www.vnsny.org/how-we-can-help/community-programs/community-mental-health-services/

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/dc/hunts-point-resource-guide.pdf

www.schools.nyc.gov