You’d hope that someone who was employed as a police officer would exhibit a little less in the way of…oh…insane brutality I guess is the phrase I was looking for.
Sadly, that wasn’t the case with 31-year-old Keith Winfield.
On the 13th of October, 2005, Keith Winfield’s sister-in-law dropped off her 23-month-old daughter at his house, as she had several times before. Keith Winfield and his wife would watch over the toddler during the day, until his sister-in-law would come and pick the baby up.
Well, on this particular day, when the child’s mother came to pick her baby girl up, Keith told her that the toddler seemed to have developed a severe case of diaper rash.
Fair enough. Diaper rash happens - you just apply the ointment, change the baby’s diapers a little more frequently and move on. Diaper rash gets better, after all.
Except this wasn’t diaper rash.
The child’s mother, who noticed that the child’s injury was getting worse, took her to the pediatrician the next day. The pediatrician took one look at the child and referred her to a local Children’s Hospital.
The Children’s Hospital doctors, who were possibly a bit more jaded than the pediatrician, saw that what had happened to the child was not a case of diaper rash.
The child had been sexually assaulted.
With a hot object.
Possibly a curling iron.
Keith Winfield, who had been left alone with the toddler for several hours while his wife was out, had taken a hot curling iron and raped his niece with it, burning the inside of her vagina, and given the child back to his sister-in-law - probably with a smile on his face.
Social Services and the police were called and the child was admitted to the hospital for treatment. She stayed in the hospital for weeks, being treated for burns.
Investigators really, really wanted to figure this one out, as you can imagine. Detectives worked on their days off and on their own personal time to look into the case.
They eventually determined that Keith Winfield and his wife were the only ones who had come into conflict with the girl, and that Keith had been alone for a while with her.
The prime suspect was obvious, and especially dismaying to the police who were investigating one of their own:
Keith Winfield.
Winfield had been working for the Somerville Police Department since the 27th of November, 2000, and aside from one incident where he was arrested for domestic abuse against his wife (a charge that was later dropped when his wife recanted her statement), was a decent officer.
Once the investigation started pointing in his direction, Keith Winfield was placed on paid administrative leave, with his badge, gun and police ID all held until the investigation was settled, one way or another. By March of 2006, the investigation had delivered enough evidence for the police department to put Keith Winfield on unpaid suspension.
Then on the 1st of August, 2006, Keith Winfield was indicted with two counts of rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury. Keith turned himself in the same day.
He pled innocent, for what it was worth.
It wasn’t worth much - on the 15th of November, 2007, Keith Winfield was found guilty by a jury on all four charges.
Then, on the 11th of December, 2007, he was sentenced to life in prison.
This would be an instance when the biblical concept of “an eye for an eye” would be appropriate.
Do we even need a poll for this one?
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Sometimes this site makes me really sad.
Then I look at pictures of people like this guy, and I can’t help but laugh.
Then I read the article that follows said picture, and I want to cry again.
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What is wrong with people!! As a mother of 2, the news is becoming more and more unbearable. Hopefully this little girl will have no memory or lasting effects from this horrendous act.
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I am always amazed at the depraved depths to which some people will sink. I can’t even begin to think of what that child could have possibly done to deserve or provoke that sort of horror. I can’t imagine what went through this guys mind, what could have possibly triggered the idea, or what could have possessed him to go through with it. There is pure evil in the world. There are folks who are just plain bad. There is no explanation. There is no excuse. They are simply evil and will be dealt with accordingly at the appointed time.
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I really hope his cell mate has a curling iron. How can these people do this to babies? Our young are our most precious national resource. What is wrong with these people? I really wish the death penalty could apply in cases of extreme cruelty.
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i still think they should make torture a punishment then death.
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I am staying speechless… This is not possible…
No way I could imagine one day to read such disgusting and horrible story. Yes, this man deserve to stay in prison the rest of his life. If you are able to do a quarter of what this monster did, I say that you are a danger for the society.
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My god I’ve burnt my forehead with a curling iron and it hurt like hell….I couldn’t imagine the pain of having a curling iron down south this guy deserves so much more than going to hell…I hope the get him in prison and put a hot iron up his ass
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Any woman that turns the care of a child who can not speak to a man …is a FOOL….that guy needs the death penalty and the mother needs some parenting classes and a long probation…NO excuse!!! Think about who u leave ur children with. I would love to know where she was when her child was cryin out in pain for her…wondering why this person was hurting her and her “mommy” wasnt there. No sympathy for people who leave thier children with lo-lives
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i’m even more amazed that 5 people voted he shouldn’t go to hell…..
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DualDenz-
Absolutely. It would be nice if there was a feature on this website that allowed people who vote ‘no’ for any perp going to hell… to be able to state exactly where these POS’s should go instead of hell. Heaven? Who knows. I, for one, would like to see what those anti-hell people would suggest as an alternative.
c
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Just wait til this guy gets off one to ones he’ll get his ass kicked just for being a cop. Just imagine what they’ll do to him when they find out what he did to his niece. That’ll be justice in itself.
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What pleasure can you get out of raping a baby with a hot curling iron and hearing her scream in horror? What is wrong with this guy?! I cannot believe people can actually behave this way. Jail just doesnt seem like enough punishment.
Kristina- the mother left the baby with her sister and her husband. People she thought she could trust. Have you never goteen a babysitter before? And according to the post, this was not a one time deal. This man and his wife cared for the child before. I don’t blame the mother at all. I feel the deepest sympothy for her and her child. Hopefully the baby will not remember any of this.
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1st of all… the mother of this baby used to be a friend of mine. Until she was obsessed with her sister and husband. The baby was with him and his own daughter for 45 minutes. A curling iron? Where is it? Think about it. If you burned yourself with a curling iron it would be felt and appear immediatley. The doctors said 24-36 hours later. Then the baby had broken bones that the mother didn’t know about… come on?? Something doesn’t sit right here. This mother has become a drug addict, whore, since her baby’s been born. She has blamed her daughter for ruining her life. She had got pregnant because her sister had a baby and they were getting all the attention that Cristina used to get. So after the baby was born she turned to drugs just to cope with having to care for a kid. Now Cristina is awaiting trial herself with 25 counts of felony drug charges. Who is the real monster??? They have the wrong person… they should be looking at the mother for this horrific crime. This man has 2 girls who have always been in his and his wife’s care. The baby was taken away and put into foster care for a few months. If you’re going to tell a story… GET THE FACTS!! Cristina I don’t know how you can sleep at night… well actually I do… very medicated!!
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Cristina’s exfriend, are you “sistersfriend” on Dreamindemon?
Got proof on those felony charges? What’s the link for the court system website? What’s the mother’s last name? With that info, people can look up for themselves and see the charges.
Also, if you were a friend of the mother’s, and she was abusive or neglectful, what did you do to help that baby? Because sitting on your ass doing nothing and then spewing vitriol on the mother just makes you look guilty by association.
A jury found this guy guilty of four counts of abuse, which indicates pretty overwhelming physical evidence. Where’s your evidence against the mother in this case?
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hmmm.
C’s ex-friend….
Somehow I doubt you were ever friends with the mom to begin with.
And, like others here, your claims here and on DD don’t make a lot of sense.
25 FELONY drug charges, eh? Should be pretty easy to give us all links to proof of those charges.
And, C only had a baby to compete with her sister and her hubby? Because she wasn’t getting all the attention anymore? Attention for what? I haven’t read that mom has done much in her life worthy of attention to begin with. Well, except for the part where I can’t figure out where baby’s father is, and it’s generally not wise to have kids when daddy doesn’t want to be a daddy.
What exactly was she getting so much attention for before… before she had a supposed unwanted child, and supposedly set her BIL up for child abuse?
Don’t get me wrong… I don’t have much respect for neglectful mommies or absent daddies. Or child-abusers in general.
I am going to guess, based on all the whacko stuff that visitors to sites are saying, that this case is more complicated than it’s been presented as. Not meaning that each
POS is less guilty- just that it’s probably even worse than it appears.
c
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First, the poll is not fair. The issue is not whether to go to “hell”, but “Does he deserve life?”.
Yeah, what was REPORTED is totally horrendous. I welled up myself. But then look at people who commit much mre heinous acts of murder, and they get 5-10.
Sorry, although this type of story always hit the heartstrings, I don’t see an apple-to-apple comparison here.
Does he deserve jail? Hell yeah. LIFE??? Again, though I cannot fathom a guy who could do that to an infant; I have two little girls myself; I can’t help but compare HIS sentence with others’ whom have gunned down dozens, and then plea down to 5 and parole.
What’s the diff??? Yeah, he did HORRIBLE things to a little girl, but why does he get life, and the punk bangers get 2 weeks, maybe a year, after gunning down their “hood” and killing 6 people???
I hope you see my agena here… Yeah, the guy needs some time… but also some help.
I dated a woman, with two sweet affectionate little girls… 4 & 6.
Since the father was AOL, and she was divorced, I was dating her during which I was told of the horrible things ther own father had done.
The father’s lawyer just happened to be his bro-in-law and the phucker got off.
FF to current:
The little 4YO had a yeast infection or something (sorry, I ain’t a little girl doc. ) This 4YO wuld cuddle on me on the couch watching a movie etc. and is the most affectionate little girl I’ve ever known. Clearly, they had lost their father figure at a very young age and they latched on to me. At the time, I was afraid of lttle kids! lol Like, um, what do I do now….
Anyway, I will to the end of my life, recall the night that their mother got an Rx for topical anti-fungal (I guess it was due to the infection).
I ended up balling my eyes out when the kid started screaming while her own mother tried to apply external cream to her labia.
It wasn’t until that moment, I knew just how phucked that bastard of a “father” was and here’s the kicker:
The A-ole was AQUITTED of all charges! Guess having family as councel pays off.
I guess I’m relating to this because i began by stating the “curling iron dude” got hammered.
Yeah, he deserves some major time and a head treatment, but to be fair, his sentence compared to others seems to be way off chart.
[Hold on hold on]
Yeah, he’s messed up and deserves a huge punishment, but also note the apparent “details left out” as well as the disproportionate sentence as compared to even more heinous crimes sentenced.
Bottom line is that the system is crooked, unfail, and most importantly non-objective.
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Regards,
-=S=-
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Or, perhaps he should not only get the death sentence, but also go to hell?
Perhaps we as a society should work harder at tightening the loopholes other POS are wiggling through, rather than ‘dumbing-down’ other appropriate sentences?
Lowering standards is rarely a wise thing to do in any situation.
I am curious, whoever the perpetrator of the curling iron assault was…. how in the world is a little counseling or therapy going to help? Anyone who could even think up such a freakish, brutal thing, mush less do it, is not likely to be rehabilitated, because it’s not just sexual assault, it’s child abuse and bizarre thought processing as well. Slap their hands, give them some counseling, and they’ll never do it again? Maybe not with a curling iron… maybe with a soldering gun?
For anyone who thinks so positively about rehabilitation of criminals, I’d like to know if they’d be so convinced of it if the perp was to be released into THEIR home, around their children. Suddenly it doesn’t seem like such a good idea, eh?
c
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This was one of the most confusing cases I have heard of. Did Keith really do it? There were no hard facts in this case other then Keith being alone with the child for 45mins. This article said several hours so what has been writen is NOT 100 percent true. I know Keith as a friend but not behind closed doors and what goes on in his home. The last time I saw him was almost a year ago where he had explained to me the problems he was going through but never mentioned anything about his niece, more of issues with his sister in law Christina Ragusa. Supposively she has been trying to ruin the relationship between her sister and Keith for many year out of jealousy and also because she didnt know who her baby daddy was and had to live with the guilt.
This whole story only unfolded about Keith and nothing about the mothers background that led up to this and never explain the relationship between Keith and Christina. Christina SAID the baby was fine when she changed the diaper before she left her with Keith. Keith said he saw the rash when he changed the baby for the first time that day. SO when was the rash really there?? What about the broken ribs, wrist, the baby had before all this and why didnt the mother know her child was in pain. This is just one twisted story which is just to hard to understand. Keith had the wrong attorney for this case and that probably hurt him in the long run but he is now guilty. SO either he will rot in prison if he really did do it or he will get an appeal and continue to fight it. I’m not taking any side here but to convict someone of rape and sentence them to life, you really need hard evidence not what he said she said. The doctors should of been able to tell when the rash started and what forms or stages it takes to get to what was observed by the doctors. It just doesnt make sense. I wish and hope something can be re-evaluated to really understand this case.
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It seems to me that any competant doctor would be able to able to tell how long it takes for heat burns to develop, and any defense lawyer would have been able to prove that the injuries happened earlier.
I do have to say one thing…. all the men I know, even ones most people would call very responsible do not bother changing a child’s diaper if they knew someone else would be home soon to do it for them. My ex would certainly have waited 45 minutes.
Given that as far as I know, nobody has complete access here to the court transcripts, we are all at a disadvantage as far as what forensic evidence there was. I find it very hard to believe that the only reason this person was convicted was because they were alone with the child for 45 minutes. And, if that is the case, the entire jury must have been retarded.
I do not believe for a second that this person was convicted merely because he had access to the child for 45 minutes. Not believeable.
c
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I’m thinking that there was more to the story if he received life for being with the child for only 45 minutes.
And he was a cop, they, from what I’ve seen and not all, like to cover shit up. Especially mistakes.
Keith was an obvious mistake I’m sure.
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just to let everyone know the mother is a drug user and she had numerous drugdealers coming in and out of the house. If the mother really did care about her child she wouldnt have taken her to the docter’s almost two days later, after keith told her the child had a serious case of diaper rash.
keith is a great guy and im 100% positive he didnt do this.
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Keith is innocent!
he is a great guy,the person above me is right .
the mother is a huge crackhead. Keith had two daughters of his own and they both have not reported any abuse .
i will support keith any way possible.
i hope the truth comes out and you idiots realize what idiots you really are .
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Well, sorry to say that your great, innocent guy is now convicted and in jail.
Seems like the time for all the truth to come out was before his conviction, y’know?
I’m going to guess all that did come out in the trial. No doubt the POS’s atty tried to hang the abuse on everyone from the supposedly drug-addict mother to the postman… anyone besides their client. And I’m going to guess the jury did not buy it. They probably wanted more proof than family members saying what a great guy he was, and what a drug-addicted, vindictive whore the mother is. Juries tend to like facts, not opinions.
c
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Baby butt raper!
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those who cast stones will join him in hell,if guilty why didnt he run while on bail,,,surely he knew what awaited an xcop chidl molester in prison<<<he was innocent thats why
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labooks,
Look at your bible again. Secular justice has a place in this world because there is wickedness.
If he’s innocent get a better attorney to help him on his appeal.
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Gosh, another “innocent” baby raper has been convicted and sentenced. Oh, why oh why does this keep happening?!? WTF ever. Everybody in prison is “innocent”. If this guy is so fucking innocent, he would NOT have been convicted by a jury of his peers. Ya think?
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A close friend of mine use to work with Keith at SPD. He would come into work drunk on most days. Apparently he was also addicted to Oxycontin. This guy wasn’t a saint before the incident with his niece, but remember this was a cop! Which I think makes the situation even worse. I personally hope he rots in prison.
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Nobody who posted on here knows Keith, like I know him. Lets just say that. I can only say that the truth will come out in the appeal. Yes, Keith had problems even big ones that a lot of others may not have had….but he’s not a child molester. A molester doesn’t discriminate against his own children. But yet… his daughter’s check out fine. I do pray for that little girl everyday because she was indeed molested. Kristine knows the truth. She knows how she passes that poor baby from drug house to drug house. I also pray for Keith and his family everyday. Because he is an innocent man rotting in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Only time will prove his innocence. All any of you people have is this stupid article to go by. I can’t wait till the day comes when you all look like idiots for what you are writing. The day will come….
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Jason reply on June 16th, 2008:
And his conviction
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