A Bowling Green man who viciously assaulted his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter has agreed to a plea deal in a Warren County courtroom.
Brad Gerke, 39, was indicted on sodomy, assault and sexual abuse charges related to the October 2018 incident. On Monday, he pled guilty to two counts of first-degree assault after prosecutors dropped the sodomy and sexual abuse charges.
He agreed to a 40 year prison sentence and will not be eligible for parole for 20 years.
“The case against Brad Gerke was one of the most severe child abuse cases we’ve seen in Warren County in some time,” Warren County Commonwealth Attorney Chris Cohoron told WBKO.com. “The main concern we had was making sure he’d be incarcerated for the greatest length of time possible.”
Gerke, through his attorney, told the court he had been high on methamphetamine for several days leading up to the assault. He said taking meth caused him to hallucinate that the child was a threat, resulting in him stomping the child all over her body causing injuries to her face and large intestine as well as trauma to her genitals, according to WBKO.com.
The child spent an extended period of time in ICU.
The child’s mother, Cynthia Orr, was also arrested and charged with criminal abuse. Her case has yet to be adjudicated.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
