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Man Charged After 7-Year-Old Son Is Hospitalized Weighing 38 Pounds

The father of a 7-year-old boy who is suffering from starvation and dehydration was held without bail Wednesday after the child was brought to the hospital unconscious.

A hearing is scheduled Friday for Randall Lints, 26, of Hardwick to determine if he will be released while awaiting trial, the Telegram & Gazette reports.

Lints has been charged with assault and battery on a child with substantial injury, permitting substantial injury to a child, reckless endangerment of a child and permitting injury to a child. A not guilty plea was entered on Lints' behalf Wednesday in Western Worcester District Court.

Police arrested Lints on Tuesday after his son — weighing 38 pounds, about 10 pounds below the average for boys that age — was hospitalized at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital in Ware. The child became unresponsive because he was starving and dehydrated, court documents show.

State Trooper Douglas Grout wrote in a statement of fact that the boy also had bruises to his forehead and jaw and apparent bleach burns on his hands and knees. The report said Lints is a strict disciplinarian who was forcing the boy to continuously wash the floors, contributing to his injuries.

The police report said that the boy was rarely out of his father's sight and that Lints has a history of limiting food and liquids. A therapist had addressed the issue in May.

A state police report described the boy's injuries as life threatening.

Lints' criminal record and other documents were impounded after Judge Maura McCarthy granted a motion from John Madaio, who was appointed to represent him.

This article was originally published on July 22, 2015.

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