Former Army sergeant stationed at Fort Campbell sentenced for child neglect after 2-month-old sustained burns and skull fracture

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A former United States Army sergeant stationed on Fort Campbell has been sentenced to over a decade in federal prison for aggravated child neglect, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee said that Andrew J. Garasich, 29, of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, severely burned his then two-month-old baby “by bathing him in water so hot that the baby’s skin peeled off his body.” The infant did not receive medical treatment for five days after the bath.

Once the baby was taken to Houston County Community Hospital, Garasich reportedly did not accompany him. Medical personnel arranged for the baby to be transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center via helicopter due to the extent of his injuries. When assessed at VUMC, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that in addition to partial and full thickness burns to the buttocks, perineum, left elbow and lower extremities, they also saw a left parietal skull fracture.

“The victim in this case was a two-month-old child who was horribly neglected by the Defendant and barely survived,” Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire said. “The child is now in a loving home but will face lifelong struggles because of the Defendant’s choices. This case shows that we will not hesitate to prosecute those who hurt children and, if they are convicted, we will seek long sentences in federal prison for them.”

Medical staff also contacted the police department in Erin, Tennessee, which dispatched officers to speak with witnesses to the baby’s injuries.

Garasich had no prior criminal convictions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, though he did have a prior case with the Department of Children’s Services involving another child in 2019.

He has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for aggravated child neglect. Following his sentence, he will be on supervised release for another four years.

“This sentencing is a result of the unwavering commitment of the FBI and our justice system to protect the most vulnerable members of our community — our children,” Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Nashville Field Office, Joe Carrico, said. “There is no place in our community for those who harm children, and we will do everything we can to find and punish those who engage in this repugnant activity and seek justice for victims.”

The child’s mother and Garasich’s co-defendant will be sentenced on Aug. 5.