Andrew J. Garasich, Aggravated Child Neglect, Tennessee 2025

Former U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Aggravated Child Neglect

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Andrew J. Garasich, 29, of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for aggravated child neglect, announced Robert E. McGuire, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Garasich severely burned his two-month-old baby on December 30, 2022, by bathing him in water so hot that the baby's skin peeled off his body. The baby did not receive medical treatment for five days after the bath. When the baby was finally taken to Houston County Community Hospital for medical treatment, Garasich did not accompany the baby to the hospital.

Medical personnel immediately arranged for the baby to be life flighted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center due to the severity of his injuries, and they contacted the Erin, Tennessee, Police Department, which dispatched officers to the hospital to speak with witnesses about how the baby was injured.

When the baby was assessed at Vanderbilt, in addition to partial to full thickness burns on the baby's buttocks, perineum, lower extremities, and left elbow, medical personnel also noted a left parietal skull fracture. Garasich's co-defendant, the child's mother, will be sentenced on August 5, 2025.

Garasich, a former sergeant (E-5) in the United States Army stationed on Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was a father of a two-month-old baby when he committed the crime. Although Garasich does not have any prior criminal convictions, he has a prior case with the Department of Children's Services involving another child in 2019.

Following his term of imprisonment, Garasich will be on supervised release for 4 years. This case was investigated by the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI Nashville Field Office, Clarksville Resident Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Morrison and Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire prosecuted the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdtn/pr/former-us-army-soldier-sentenced-12-years-federal-prison-aggravated-child-neglect