LYMAN MAN RECEIVES 15-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR FELONY CHILD ABUSE

A Lyman man received a 15-year prison sentence today after he admitted to giving his 23-day-old child skull fractures and fractured ribs.

Brian M. Hollingworth, 26, pleaded guilty to felony child abuse. He will serve about 12 years behind bars before he is eligible for release.

Hollingworth took his newborn son to Allen Bennett Hospital on May 18, 2008 and reported that he needed treatment for seizure-like behavior. Doctors diagnosed the baby with the serious injuries and sent it to Greenville Memorial Hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit.

Both Hollingworth and his wife, Destiny R. Carswell, 28, gave inconsistent statements during interviews with Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputies. Hollingworth later admitted to causing the injury after he failed a lie detector test. Hollingworth told a deputy that he took the baby’s head and squeezed it between his bicep and chest. Days later, he said he broke the baby’s ribs when he grabbed the infant’s chest and squeezed it. The injured baby has recovered from its injuries.

The victim, his 1-year-old brother, and 4-year-old brother are being cared by a relative.

Criminal charges are still pending on Carswell.

For more information, contact Murray Glenn at 809-4892.