Former ER Doctor Reaches Plea Deal In Child Abuse Case

WAUWATOSA, WI — A former pediatric emergency room doctor reached a plea deal on a child abuse charge in which authorities accused him of injuring his 1-month-old adopted daughter, according to online court records.

John M. Cox, 40, of Wauwatosa was expected to plead no contest to felony child neglect, Milwaukee County Deputy District Attorney Matthew Torbenson, the prosecutor on the case, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Cox was charged in 2020 with physical abuse of a child. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison, in addition to supervision, probation and possible fines.

Plea agreements usually result in the dismissal of the charge if a defendant has good conduct for a period of time, according to the Journal Sentinel.

Cox strongly disputed the charge and filed three motions in court to dismiss the case, arguing lack of evidence, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Cox took his daughter to Children's Hospital over concerns that she was not using her left arm, claiming that he fractured her clavicle while co-sleeping with her on May 9, 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County.

Cox told the doctor that his weight shifted and he pinned her under his chest with his sternum over her right arm, the criminal complaint said.

The doctor noticed bruising on each of the girl's arms that was consistent with the skin being "pinched," the complaint said. The doctor also reported finding a bruise on the girl's lower-right back.

The girl was given a physical abuse evaluation by medical staff, the complaint said. The girl suffered numerous bruises on multiple parts of her body, and Cox's co-sleeping story did not match the bruising they found on his daughter's body, investigators said.

The Department of Milwaukee Child Protective Services hired Nancy Harper, a board-certified child abuse physician, to conduct a full review of the girl's medical records in order to determine whether the cause of her injuries was consistent with Cox's explanations, the complaint said.

Harper disputed Cox's claim that he was co-sleeping with his daughter when the injuries occurred, the complaint said.

"In summary, there is no medical explanation for [her] injuries other than trauma. There is no hematologic explanation for the cutaneous trauma. Bruising has not continued with a change in placement. These injuries do not represent birthmarks and are not explained by routine infant care. The clavicle fracture is not well explained by an overlay scenario in bed with an adult," she said in the criminal complaint.

"However, forceful squeezing/compression of the torso laterally can cause both fractures of the clavicle, as well as patterned cutaneous trauma. This constellation of injuries including cutaneous trauma and a clavicle fracture is clinically diagnostic of child physical abuse or inflicted injury."

The baby was removed from Cox's house in May 2019.

Patch Editor Scott Anderson contributed to this report.