Malnourished Longmont teen’s dad charged with child abuse, neglect

Denver, CO  –  A Longmont father faces charges following the hospitalization of his malnourished 17-year-old blind and autistic son, who was considered by doctors last week to be in a condition similar to a concentration camp survivor.

David Lawrence Hall, 52, appeared free on $50,000 bond Friday at the Boulder County Jail to be formally charged with one count of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury and one count of negligent serious bodily injury to an at-risk person.  Both are felonies.

He sat beside his wife, Vanessa, also, 52, who is expected to make her first formal court appearance Sept. 20, according to the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office.

A preliminary hearing — when the court will determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial — was set for Oct. 27.

The couple said they had no comment about their son’s condition and directed questions to their attorney as they left the jail courtroom Friday afternoon.

According to court records, the teen — who apparently subsisted on a diet of soda and cracker snacks, and used a bedside jug for his bathroom — was suffering from severe malnutrition and kidney failure when he was taken to Longmont United Hospital on Aug. 30 and later transferred to an Aurora hospital.