An Allegheny County 911 dispatcher has been suspended without pay following his arrest on child abuse charges.
Michael Charles Koban, 34, of Bower Hill Road in Scott, was arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of children and aggravated assault for allegedly hurting his 2-month-old son on Sept. 3, according to a police complaint issued Thursday.
His wife, Ashley Koban, 32, was also charged with endangering the welfare of children and interfering with investigators.
The child was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh where he was diagnosed with a skull fracture, hemorrhaging and healing rib fractures, then treated and released.
The infant is one of four small male children under the age of 12 in the home, and Michael Koban initially told Scott police investigators that the 2-month-old’s injuries were caused by a 17-month-old child. The other brothers, 7 and 12 years old, were not at home at the time of the incident.
According to the police complaint, Mr. Koban was at home with the 2-month-old and the 17-month-old while his wife was at work. He told police he left the living room after placing the infant in a baby swing and when he returned the infant was lying on the floor with a bump on its head.
He called his wife, who called 911, which dispatched an EMS ambulance.
Mr. Koban told police he thought the 17-month-old had pulled the 2-month old out of the swing.
But an examination on Sept. 4 by doctors at the hospital in the Child Advocacy Center found that the infant also had “multiple fractured ribs that were in the healing stage.” Dr. Jennifer Clarke advised that the type of rib injury is likely the result of a squeeze or strike, which could point to possible child abuse.
According to the complaint, a review of the internet search history on Mr. Koban’s phone, obtained after police were granted a search warrant on Sept. 6, showed searches for “rib fractures, shaken baby syndrome, brittle bones in babies, is this an abused child, and fractured ribs in infants, could a car seat that is too tight.”
A text thread obtained from Ashley Koban’s phone showed she didn’t believe the infant was injured when pulled from the swing. It also showed she had concerns about her husband’s temper during the three weeks prior to the day the infant was injured.
Chief Matt Brown of Emergency Services confirmed that Michael Koban, who started working as a 911 dispatcher in September 2017 and is classified as a “Telecommunicator II making $49,966 a year, has been suspended without pay.
A preliminary hearing for Mr. Koban is scheduled for Oct. 17.
First Published: October 6, 2019, 4:58 p.m.
