Father in shaken baby case to go to trial on another charge

DIXON – A Dixon man charged with shaking his infant daughter to death in September 2010 will go to trial this spring in a separate case in which he is accused of hitting his young son a month earlier with a wand from a set of mini-blinds.

Charles T. George, 34, will be tried May 23 on charges of felony and misdemeanor domestic battery.

The trial is expected to last 2 days. He has a final pretrial conference May 3.

George also is charged with two counts of aggravated battery of a child, aggravated domestic battery, and involuntary manslaughter in the death of his 3-month-old daughter, Tamari O. George.

The girl died Sept. 23, 2010, after spending several days in a Rockford hospital.

Police say that as they investigated Tamari’s death, allegations were made of George hitting his son. Police say the incident happened in August 2010.

The involuntary manslaughter case essentially is at a standstill. Prosecutors are appealing a judge’s decision to toss out George’s confession to police.

In October, Lee County Judge Ron Jacobson ruled his confession inadmissible because he made it after “clearly and unequivocally” asserting his right to remain silent in an interview with police.

The appeal, which will be decided by the Illinois Second District Appellate Court, could take months to resolve, prosecutors have said.