BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) -- A Brooklyn man was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for fatally injuring his girlfriend's four-month-old daughter in June 2021, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
Ricardo Price, 26, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was babysitting four-month-old Royalty Kemp in a Brooklyn apartment on June 22, 2021, after her mother left the child in his care, according to the district attorney.
Price had the baby in his lap and bounced his leg repeatedly to get her to quiet down, court evidence revealed. While shaking the baby, her head bumped into a game controller in Price's hands.
The next day, Kemp’s mother noticed that she was lethargic and unable to eat. That afternoon, she was unresponsive. The baby was brought to Woodhull Medical Center where doctors said she had a skull fracture, the district attorney said. The baby later died on July 2, 2021.
“Royalty Kemp was a precious infant entrusted by her mother to the defendant’s care. Instead of ensuring the child’s safety, he caused head injuries so severe she died," said District Attorney Gonzalez.
The medical examiner determined the child's cause of death from abusive head trauma with numerous recent injuries including skull fractures. She also had underlying hemorrhaging to the brain and parts of the spinal cord, officials said.
Charline Charles is a digital journalist from Brooklyn who has covered local news along with culture and arts in the New York City area since 2019. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
