ALFRED — A Sanford man who is accused of assaults on his twin infants that left them hospitalized with head injuries pleaded not guilty Friday to a half-dozen charges.
Anthony Carpinelli, 22, of 25C Bates St., who has been held on $25,000 bail since he was arrested and charged with attacking his children on May 2, was indicted this month by the York County grand jury. He faces four felony charges – aggravated assault, aggravated assault with indifference, and two counts of assault on a child younger than 6 – and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
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Carpinelli said nothing during the brief hearing in York County Superior Court. He wore chains and an orange jail uniform and stood next to his attorney, Randall Bates, as Bates entered the pleas on his behalf.
Justice G. Arthur Brennan left Carpinelli’s bail unchanged from his initial court appearance in Springvale on May 7, when a District Court judge set bail at $25,000 cash or $100,000 if he posted property instead.
“Bail is not an issue for today,” said Brennan, who left the option for bail to be revisited.
The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Thaddeus West, would not comment on the current condition of Carpinelli’s two infants, who were less than 2 months old when police say Carpinelli hit and shook them.
“The charges speak for themselves,” West said outside the courtroom afterward. “It’s a tragedy.”
The aggravated-assault charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The assault charges are punishable by as many as five years in prison. The misdemeanors carry a maximum punishment of a year in jail.
Carpinelli’s father, who appeared in court for the hearing and spoke in whispers with his son’s attorney, would not comment to reporters outside the courtroom.
Bates said as he left the courthouse that he had spoken to Carpinelli several times before Friday’s hearing, and that his family continues to support him.
“He’s a young kid looking at very serious charges,” Bates said. “It’s very early in the process. We’ve just started getting discovery from the state. We’re looking into all of his options.”
As conditions of bail, Carpinelli is prohibited from having contact with the infants, Willow and Haiden Carpinelli, who were born prematurely on March 11, or with their mother, Nichole Morrill.
Carpinelli was with the children on the night of May 1, while their mother was out, Sanford police Detective Cpl. Sarah Roberts said in May. Morrill returned the next morning and found the children in distress. She took them to Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford.
The infants were transferred to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Willow had a serious brain injury and was initially in critical condition, police said. She has since been discharged to her family, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Haiden had less serious external head injuries, police said. He was initially in serious condition but also recovered enough to be discharged, the spokeswoman said.
Morrill was not in court Friday. She had said in a post on the Portland Press Herald’s website that the children were “stable and home with me :'( <– happy tears.. willow needs extra care but Haiden has pulled through strong.”
Morrill included a link to a campaign on gofundme.com, a fundraising website, to raise money for a permanent home for her and the babies. The creator of the campaign, Judy Bumby, said on the campaign page that the twins are recovering.
“One of the twins, Haiden, seems to have been able to tough it out and will hopefully come through this strong, and will only require minimal help,” she wrote. “Willow, his twin sister, due to her more severe injuries, will unfortunately need more assistance financially now and in the future.”
Carpinelli and Morrill lived with the twins and a 2-year-old daughter in a single room at Morrill’s brother’s home, police said. The 2-year-old was not injured.
Scott Dolan can be contacted at 791-6304 or at:
Twitter: scottddolan
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