Talking Footy

July 6, 2007 - 11:25AM

A man accused of biting off the lip and ear of his girlfriend's three-year-old daughter has been remanded in custody without bail after pleading not guilty.

Police said the attack left the girl so mutilated doctors could not fully repair the damage.

Bryan James, 34, was charged with assault and battery upon a child causing substantial bodily injuries.

The child's mother, Jessica Silveria, 26, pleaded not guilty to permitting substantial injuries to a child under 14 and intimidation of a witness. She also was ordered held without bail.

The girl lost the upper part of her lip and her ear was so mutilated that surgery could not return it to its natural state. The child also suffered other bites on her body, New Bedford police Capt. Richard Spirlet said.

"It was malicious, mayhem," Spirlet said.

Police believe the biting attacks began in January and continued until April.
New Bedford police began investigating in mid-May after the girl was taken to Children's Hospital in Boston.

Officials at the hospital called it one of the most horrific cases of child abuse they had ever seen.

The state Department of Social Services (DSS) said it began investigating abuse allegations in January, and repeatedly tried to contact and locate the girl's family.

When the agency managed to contact the mother in March, her daughter was not in the home, and she was not there during subsequent visits, the DSS said in a statement.

In April, the agency asked a judge for an order to gain temporary custody of the girl and her older brother. A judge put the children in state care in May, the DSS said