NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — (The story above is from a separate, unrelated report)
A Jacksonville military man who was babysitting two children in Nassau County has been charged after a child died while in his care, according to an arrest warrant from Nassau County
Documents show Kete James Lanty, 27, was charged with second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse Tuesday. An arrest report indicates he was arrested at Naval Station Mayport.
His occupation is listed as military in the arrest report. Navy officials confirmed to First Coast News that his rank is Petty Officer, First Class.
He began working at Naval Station Mayport in August 2020.
According to police documents, the incident happened on June 18, 2021 in Nassau County. Documents show that Nassau County deputies initially got involved after a child was taken to Wolfson Children's Hospital, suffering from blunt force trauma.
According to the warrant, Lanty was babysitting two children in the area of Eagles Hammock Boulevard when, at some point, one of the children began vomiting.
The warrant says Lanty showed deputies a video he took of the victim laying on his stomach near a pile of vomit in the playroom. In the video, deputies reported hearing Lanty yelling at the child for vomiting.
The warrant says EMS was later called for the child, who was found in cardiac arrest upon arrival, according to the report.
While most of the information is redacted in the warrant, a child abuse pediatrician says she evaluated the victim at the hospital and said that the death was not a result of any apparent medical condition or unintentional head trauma.
The expert said that the victim was too young to inflict the injuries upon himself.
The warrant says that the autopsy and toxicology report indicated the child died as a result of blunt force head trauma.
The arrest warrant was issued on May 2, 2022. Lanty is being held on no bond.
