HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 07-16 In little girl's death, no sex charges filed against Maplewood Man PIONEER PRESS In little girl's death,no sex charges filed against Maplewood man ,IUL 1 e 2015
Updated'07/162015 01:45:34 PM COT
TwinCities.com
With a fnal autopsy report in hand,Ramsey County prosecutors say they don't expect to file more charges against a
Maplewood man accused of beating to death a 17-month-old girl.
When Leb Mike Meak,35,initially was charged in the death of Genesis Xiong in February,investigators said there were
signs that the girl may have been sexually assaulted but they were awaiting further forensic analysis.
During a Wednesday court hearing,prosecutor Karen Kugler said the state received the Ramsey County medical
examiner's fnal report this week.
Kugler said the state will point to aggravating factors,which can lead to a heftier sentence,based on excessive punishment
and the presence of children during the assault.Kugler said after the hearing that the state will not file more charges.
Meak was charged with second-degree unintentional murder in the Feb.12 death of Genesis.
The girl's mother,Lia Pearson,also known as Lia Lee,of Farmington was charged in April with child neglect.Prosecutors
said she knew the baby was being abused and did not intervene.Pearson and Meak were dating and the toddler had been
staying with Meak for several weeks before her death.
Pearson has a pretrial hearing Thursday morning in Ramsey County District Court.
According to criminal complaints,police were called to Meak's Maplewood home on a report of a baby not breathing and
found the girl had black and purple bruises covering her stomach and chest,along with bruises on her face.
Investigators swabbed the girl's genital area,and the swabs tested positive for the presence of semen.Confronted with
this,Meak said he digitally penetrated the baby while cleaning her,but had no explanation for the semen,according to the
charges.
Kugler said no new information in the final autopsy report supported sex abuse charges.
Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at 651-228-5162.Follow her at twitter.com/LizMohr.