Prosecutors charge man formerly accused of child abuse with hurting newborn

John Fitzgerald Borens, 34, was charged with child abuse after former conviction of a felony, Assistant District Attorney David Pierce said Tuesday. Borens is being held in jail without bail.

Prosecutors allege Borens repeatedly hurt his 24-day-old daughter last Friday because he was angry she would not stop crying.

"He apparently slammed her head into his shoulder, bounced her off his knee and then hit her stomach," Pierce said. "And then he shoved his finger down her throat."

Borens and the child's mother, a state prison employee Borens started living with shortly after his release in January, did not seek immediate medical attention for the baby injuries occurred, Pierce said.

The child is being treated at a Tulsa hospital and may be suffering from stomach bleeding and bruising, he said.

The mother, Kellie Faulks, has not been charged in the case, Pierce said.

In 1992, Borens and his former wife, Angela, were convicted of injury to a minor child charges involving a 2-year-old son, John Richlick. The boy died in 1990 from strangulation, according to reports.

A doctor testified in 1998 that Borens' infant son suffered extensive brain damage in what was "the classic definition of shaken-child syndrome," records showed.

The boy was taken from the family's custody for several years, but in 1990, the state Department of Human Services recommended the boy be returned to the Borens.

He died seven weeks later.

John and Angela Borens originally faced trial and were acquitted of first-degree murder charges, but were convicted on the lesser count. He received a 20-year sentence, while his former wife was given a three-year sentence.

Borens was released in January from Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft, where he met Faulks, who is a switchboard operator at the facility, Borens' mother, Lillian Borens, said.

"There wasn't too much that they could do while in prison,"

Lillian Borens said. "When he was out of prison, she wanted to see him, so she came over to my house to visit him."

By February, Borens and Faulks had moved in together in Muskogee. He got a job at the Unarco plant in Wagoner and Faulks became pregnant, Lillian Borens said.

Lillian Borens does not believe her son would do anything to hurt the infant girl, who was born last month.

State prison officials confirmed that Faulks worked at Taft.

While he would not discuss her case directly, state Corrections Department spokesman Jerry Massie said employees are prohibited from becoming involved with ex-offenders for a 180-day period following the prisoner's release from custody.

The possible penalties for violating those rules, Massie said, range from suspension to termination.

"I suspect we'll look into it," Massie said.