Mistake made in felony child abuse case

WILMINGTON -- A mistake was made in the trial of a man found guilty of shaking his three-month-old son, causing serious injuries.

Thursday we told you a jury found 31-year-old Eric Oakman guilty of one count of felony child abuse, but Oakman was on trial for two counts of felony child abuse.

The judge presiding over the case says he made a mistake and didn't submit the second count to the jury.

Prosecutors tried Eric Oakman for two counts of felony child abuse. The jury found him guilty Thursday on one count, instead of two counts because of Judge Russell Lanier's mistake.

But Lanier says he doesn't think fixing the mistake will make much of a difference.

Lanier sentenced Oakman to ten years in prison on the one count. If Oakman gets another 10-year sentence, he may have serve it at the same time as the first sentence.

The clerk of superior court says this second count is hanging in limbo until District Attorney Ben David decides what to do. The prosecutor could appeal the case, but that does not necessarily mean there would be a retrial.

The DA's office would not comment on its plans.

In 2001 Lanier was the judge in the case of Kyle Berry, a man convicted of killing Teresa Fetter and sentenced to death. That case had to be re-tried because an appeals court found Lanier also made a mistake when he gave the jury its instructions.