Corbin man, ex-girlfriend accused of abusing two-year-old

The felony child abuse case against a Corbin man and his estranged girlfriend that began with a two-year-old child brought into Baptist Health Corbin with severe burns will be presented to a Knox County grand jury in August.

Twenty-two-year-old Tyron Person and 21-year-old Sierra P. Shepherd of Flat Lick both waived their right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Knox District Court, sending the case to the grand jury.

Person and Shepherd are each being held in the Knox County Detention Center.

Judge John Chappell declined to amend Person’s bond, which is set at $25,000 cash. Chappell amended Shepherd’s bond from $25,000 cash to $10,000 fully secured. Neither is to have any contact with the child.

According to Kentucky State Police Trooper Chad Gregory, state police were called to the hospital by staff members on July 16 when the child was brought to the hospital for treatment of the burns.

According to Gregory, Shepherd initially made several inconsistent statements concerning what had happened to the child, before agreeing to tell police the truth.

In a recorded statement, Shepherd reportedly told police that she had left the child with Person for several days, adding that at the time, she had an active emergency protective order/domestic violence order against him.

When she returned to get the child, Shepherd told police she saw the burns on the child and brought it to the hospital.
Shepherd was arrested later that evening. The child was later transferred to the University of Kentucky Medical Center due to the severity of the burns.

On July 18, an arrest warrant was issued for Person and he was taken into custody on the warrant later that evening in the Gray community.

Trooper Shane Jacobs, the public affairs officer at KSP Post 10 in Harlan, said Person has not made a statement to police.
Person and Shepherd each face one count of first-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 years or under.

Under Kentucky Law, the charge is a Class C felony, carrying a potential prison sentence of five to 10 years.