Jason Michael Colley appears in a 2018 photo. (Maryland State Police)
A former Virginia law enforcement officer who received a plea deal for the death of his infant daughter in 2017 has again been charged with child abuse. A Maryland judge denied bail for the new set of charges earlier this week.
Jason Michael Colley, 43, of Monrovia, Maryland, was charged on August 24, 2018 with child abuse – first degree death, first degree child abuse causing grievous bodily harm and assault on the first degree. on October 31, 2017, the death of Harper Colley, 6 months old. At the time, he worked for the Fairfield County Police Department in Old Dominion. He was fired shortly after the indictment was filed, The Connection reported at the time.
The baby girl’s injuries first came to the attention of authorities on September 17, 2017. She held on for several weeks before dying of “undue head trauma,” the Washington, D.C. medical examiner found. .
“Abusive head trauma can detail slamming a baby on the floor, maybe slamming a baby on a table or against a wall, something along those lines,” the county state’s attorney said at the time. Frederick, Charles Smith, in comments reported by the District of Columbia. WUSA, a CBS affiliate. “You can do serious damage, and that’s exactly what happened in this case. They [she] had a severe brain hemorrhage…with that, combined with his conflicting statements, we felt we had the proof behind a reasonable doubt.
Colley also agreed that the state had proof beyond a reasonable doubt – while technically maintaining his innocence. His wife, Heather Colley, stood by his side, telling WUSA, “My husband is innocent.”
Faced with the possibility of 105 years behind bars on the combined charges relating to the death of his infant daughter, Jason Colley pleaded Alford, in which a defendant claims his innocence but admits the state has enough evidence to convict him .
In return for his plea, the ex-cop was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with all but eight years suspended. In August 2022, Frederick County Circuit Judge Julia A. Martz-Fisher offered Colley even more clemency, allowing her to serve those eight years of private house arrest — plus five years of supervised release.
During his criminal proceedings, Colley and his wife had a second daughter. She is now 3 years old.
Last week, according to court documents obtained by WUSA, daycare staff found bruises on her arms. The 3-year-old allegedly told a Frederick County Child Protective Services investigator that “dad gets mad” and “dad bit my arm.”
Colley was arrested for felony second-degree child abuse and misdemeanor assault.
The Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office asked Frederick County District Judge Dino E. Flores Jr. to hold the former cop without bail. The judge ultimately granted the state’s request during a hearing on Wednesday.
“The judge concluded that there was no other way to protect this child,” a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told the television station.
A lawyer representing the defendant in the two child abuse cases is adamant that his client did nothing wrong.
“As the judge acknowledged today, these bruises are minor,” defense attorney Andrew Jezic told WUSA. “Something that could appear on any child’s body in any daycare any day of the year.”
Do you have a tip we should know? [email protected]