The Waterloo man accused of causing severe injuries to his 7-month-old son has requested a substitution of judge to hear his case.

A preliminary hearing was originally set to be held Thursday at the Monroe County Courthouse, but that was continued to Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 9 a.m., as a result of this new filing.

Garrett L. Pence, 33, of Waterloo, is charged with felony aggravated battery of a child. He has entered a plea of not guilty and remains free after having posted bond.

Court information alleges that on Aug. 29, Pence “caused great bodily harm to Kash Pence in that he applied excessive pressure to multiple parts on (his) body, causing bruising on the arm, back, face and buttocks, and inflicted abusive head trauma on Kash, including subdural hemorrhaging and extensive retinal hemorrhaging through excessive acceleration and deceleration of Kash’s body.”

The young boy was transferred from the hospital to the Ranken Jordan specialty clinic and is expected to return home soon, although the full extent of his injuries will not be known for some time.

Help for victim, mother

The not-for-profit organization Songs4Soldiers, which held a successful benefit concert last month in Columbia in an effort to help military veterans in need, has announced it has started a collection of items to help the injured baby’s mother and her two young sons.

“Alicia Pence of Waterloo has served in the National Guard and served a year in Afghanistan before being honorably discharged shortly after her return due to injuries incurred during her service,” states a posting on the Songs4Soldiers page on Facebook. “She has quickly become a single mother, spending all her time in the hospital and things were financially very tight before this even happened.”

Along with its own level of support, Songs4Soldiers is asking the community to donate items such as Similac Sensitive Formula, Dr. Brown’s bottles, diapers (sizes 3, 4, 5), wipes, baby shampoo and lotion, and baby clothes (sizes 6 to 9 months and larger, and 2 to 3 years and larger).

Items can be dropped off at Bare Hands Crossfit (223 N. Main Street, Columbia), St. Paul United Church of Christ in Waterloo, or at the Market Place grocery store in Columbia.

Call Kim Siegel at 618-977-8018 for more information on how to help.