A 30-year-old Renton man was charged Thursday with first-degree assault of a child in the beating of a 2-year-old Kent girl that has left her in a coma at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

According to charging papers, the abuse occurred over several weeks and was prompted in part by the man's efforts to toilet train the child.

Charged is Idris Turner, who also lists a Seattle address. If convicted, he would face between 93 months and 123 months in prison, according to Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office.

"However, the case could be reviewed for consideration of an exceptional sentence above the standard range," according to Donohoe.

Turner is being held on $150,000 bail at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, where he will be arraigned on Dec. 17.

The girl was transported to Harborview last Saturday after her 21-year-old mother and Turner, the mother's boyfriend, had brought her to Valley Medical Center in Renton. Turner is not the child's father.

Turner had taken the child to the mother's apartment in Kent, where the mother expressed concern that her daughter "wasn't normal," according to Renton police.

According to charging papers, doctors at Valley Medical Center stated that the girl – known in documents as "P.T." – had "suffered permanent brain damage and that her prognosis was that she would remain unresponsive."

According to charging papers, the child was "suffering from swelling of the brain, bleeding behind the eyes and had visible bruising."

Turner cared for the child for about a month while her mother was on bed rest during a pregnancy. Turner is the father of that child, who is now about two weeks old.

After an initial interview with police at Valley Medical, Turner and the child's mother left. First, officers had to physically intervene to keep Turner away from the child's mother, according to Penny Bartley, a Renton Police spokeswoman.

Through further investigation, detectives developed probable cause to arrest Turner, according to Bartley, including witnesses who told police that Turner had beaten the child.

Turner apparently was living at a number of residences in Renton with a number of women, according to authorities.

Late Sunday, Turner, the victim's mother and the half-sister caught the eye of a Port of Seattle Police Department officer at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, according to Bartley.

The officer learned through a computer check that there was probable cause to arrest the man.

The child's mother does not appear to be involved in the abuse, according to Bartley, and is not facing any charges at this time.

The newborn was taken into protective custody and turned over to Child Protective Services, according to Bartley.

• Civil
• Smart
• On-topic
• Free of profanity

We ask that all participants own their words by registering for an account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and drive-by commenters.

As a community site, we ask that the community help by using the "Flag" button on each comment if they feel the comment has violated the rules. You can also use the up and down arrows on each comment to voice your opinion about that particular comment.

Want to tell us something but you don't want it to be public? Talk to us privately.