CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A doctor concluded that Cynthia Abcug’s son was a victim of child abuse after multiple tests and other evidence showed no signs the boy suffered from conditions his mother told others he’d been diagnosed with, including a seizure disorder, heart problems or brain tumors.
Tuesday was the second day of Abcug's trial on charges of child abuse-knowingly or recklessly causing injury and conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping.
Dr. Jessica Panks described her review of medical records and other evidence during more than 4.5 hours of testimony at the trial.
“His presentation is most consistent with medical child abuse,” Panks said.
Much of Panks’ testimony centered on the results of a brain scan known as an electroencephalogram, or EEG, that the boy underwent multiple times.
At one point, Panks said that she believed that Abcug’s son, who is now 10 years old, likely had one seizure when he was an infant – but that he did not continue to experience them.
“Since then,” Panks testified, “all his EEGs have been stone-cold normal, which makes us really reassured he does not have a seizure disorder.”
Under cross-examination by Ara Ohanian, one of Abcug’s attorneys, Panks acknowledged that five other EEGs were classified “abnormal."
“You had said that Christopher had one abnormal EEG in his life and the rest were ‘stone-cold normal,’” Ohanian said.
“Fair,” Panks replied.
But she said only the one test result was accompanied by symptoms of a seizure – and she did not find the others suggestive of a serious medical issue. She also testified that other testing showed no evidence of heart problems or brain tumors.
Panks’ testimony is central to the trial of Abcug.
Prosecutors contend that Abcug injured her son by falsely claiming that he had serious medical conditions, leading to potentially risky treatments and tests. On top of the child abuse charge, prosecutors alleged that after Abcug’s son was removed from her care by a judge, she conspired with members of the fringe conspiracy group QAnon to kidnap him from a foster home.
Defense attorneys assert that all the medical care the boy received was sought by doctors and that there is extensive evidence of his health problems.
All of Tuesday’s testimony centered on the boy’s health.
Panks defined “medical” child abuse as a pattern of seeking medical help that develops over time and is not easy to spot because it often involves different doctors and even occurs in different geographic areas. In this case, Panks was among a group of medical professionals who examined the records for Abcug’s son after a physical therapist reported suspicions that he was being neglected or abused to child protective services.
Panks said she reviewed records from more than a half-dozen providers in Florida and Colorado and that those records did not support assertions that the boy had a seizure disorder, a heart condition or brain tumors.
She also said she was persuaded by evidence that after the boy was separated from his mother, reports of his medical issues ceased.
Three weeks after that separation, she said, “he was acting like a very normal child.”
That separation came after physical therapist Kevin Younger, in consultation with speech and behavioral therapists who were also working with the boy, grew concerned over what he described as changing diagnoses shared by Abcug, including a conversation where she said her son had a brain tumor and that “he would eventually die from it and she just wanted him to be happy the rest of his time.”
A principal and a nurse at the elementary school the boy attended over parts of several years described him as a normal, healthy child with no signs of the medical issues his mother said he’d been diagnosed with.
Principal Kelli Bainbridge said the boy “was really enthusiastic, he was super high energy, he loved to talk, he loved adults – and so when he was up in the office, he was just a chatterbox, a very delightful child.”
Nurse Rebecca Fuller testified that she saw no health issues with the boy and that he had the energy “equivalent to any other 6-year-old.”
Testimony continues Wednesday, and the trial is expected to continue at least until Thursday.
Contact 9Wants to Know investigator Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story: kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303-871-1862.
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