Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty For Killing Toddler In Horrific Attack
A Buffalo man has pleaded guilty to killing his girlfriend's daughter. Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced that the 36-year-old man entered a guilty plea before State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree on the morning of Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
Robert L. Dumas killed the 17-month-old girl by causing life-threatening injuries to her during an attack on September 15, 2020. He repeatedly assaulted the baby girl at a home on Hirschbeck Avenue in Buffalo.
The victim, Simone Calhoun, was unresponsive due to her injuries. She was taken to Oishei Children’s Hospital, where she died from her injuries four days later on Saturday, September 19, 2020. Simone's cause of death was listed by the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office as blunt force trauma.
Dumas faces a maximum of 25 years behind bars. He is due back in court on Friday, September 9, 2022, at 9:30 am for sentencing. He is currently being held without bail.
The case was prosecuted by Chief Gary W. Hackbush of the Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Bethany A. Solek of the Vehicular Crimes Unit.
My heart goes out to Simone's mother and the people who loved her. No parent should have to bury their child, especially under circumstances as horrific as this.
Unfortunately, child abuse happens too frequently. In my opinion, there is a special place in hell for people who abuse children (and the elderly, disabled, and animals).