The father who police say left his 18-month old son strapped in his car seat outside Freescale Semiconductor in Williamson County for more than six hours in August 2009 has pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of endangering a child. The child died.
Kesen Hu, 34, told investigators he forgot to drop of his son Daniel at daycare on August 12, 2009. His son was found in the parking lot of his workplace hours later. Hu worked for Pay Pal, which is located in the same complex as Freescale.
The temperatures that day were in the triple digits. The Travis County Medical Examiner determined Daniel's cause of death as hyperthermia.
The Austin Police Department did not press charges against Hu. However, Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley filed two felony charges, which a grand jury indicted Hu on, including criminally negligent homicide and endangering a child. Bradley cited Hu's car, the car seat and the heat as deadly weapons.
On Wednesday morning, Hu agreed to a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to the lesser misdemeanor charge of endangering a child. He will not serve jail time. Instead, he was given two years probation and 60 hours of community service.
"I think they showed a tremendous amount of compassion and consideration for Mr. Hu," Hu's attorney Alan Bennett said. "[The Hu's] are feeling a tremendous amount of grief and sorrow. Every step along the way has reminded them of the lost of their 18-month old son."
As part of the deal, District Judge Ken Anderson set three conditions for Hu. He must participate in a public service announcement that will air this summer warning parents of the dangers of leaving children in a hot car.
"I thought it was a common sense solution in trying to resolve this," Anderson said. "It's a good idea: 400 kids -- three to four dozen a year -- are dying after being left in cars and heat killing them. It's a serious situation."
Hu must also undergo a psychiatric evaluation and attend parenting classes.
The judge learned that Hu's wife is pregnant and due in June. He set additional stipulations.
Hu is also not allowed to drive a vehicle while operating an electronic device such as a cell phone. He cannot operate a vehicle with a child under 10 without another adult in the vehicle, and one month before the probation is over, he must submit a written plan detailing how he won't allow a similar incident to happen again.
Bradley was not in town for the guilty plea. However, he said over the phone that he offered Hu the option of pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge from the start. He is pleased with Wednesday's outcome.
