Man charged with child endangerment in octopus case

The Wichita man arrested in April after a dead octopus was found lodged in the throat of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son was charged Thursday with aggravated endangering a child.

Matthew J. Gallagher, 36, made his first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court during the morning’s walk-in docket with his mother and defense attorney at his side. The criminal charge comes more than two months after the boy was hospitalized in critical condition because he wasn’t breathing. Doctors extricated a small octopus from his throat.

Prosecutors in the criminal complaint filed in the case, which has attracted national attention, accuse Gallagher of “unlawfully and recklessly” causing or allowing the boy “to be placed in a situation in which the child’s life, body or health” is at risk.

Gallagher has claimed the boy swallowed the cephalopod, which had a head roughly 2 inches in diameter. Wichita police have said it was likely intended to be used as sushi.

Officers arrested Gallagher after hospital staff said his account of how the octopus became stuck wasn’t consistent with the boy’s injuries.

The boy’s 21-year-old mother told investigators she returned to her home in the 4900 block of East Waterman from work April 5 to find Gallagher performing CPR on her son, who was not breathing, police have said. The couple then took the child to a Wichita hospital for help.

Authorities initially characterized the toddler’s condition as “a very delicate situation.” But he improved enough to be released from the hospital later that week. Doctors had been concerned the boy might suffer long-term health problems from oxygen deprivation to his brain, police said in April.

In addition to a closed airway, the boy had bruising on his face.

Aggravated endangering a child is a felony crime that carries a five- to 17-month presumptive sentence upon conviction. Probation can also be ordered, depending on the defendant’s criminal history.

Gallagher on Thursday morning sat beside his mother in the courtroom gallery until District Judge Ben Burgess called for him to step to the podium with his defense attorney, Steven Mank, for a brief hearing. Gallagher wore a gray, long-sleeved shirt and tie and khaki slacks and had his long brown hair pulled into a neat ponytail at the nape of his neck.

He nodded while the judge spoke and advised him of the charge he’s facing — one count of aggravated endangering a child.

Burgess ordered Gallagher to cease all contact with the boy, including indirect contact through other people. He also set a $10,000 own recognizance bond for Gallagher on Thursday, which means Gallagher promised to return to court as ordered without having to pay any bail money.

When Burgess asked whether Gallagher had any questions, the 36-year-old said: “I do have one question, your honor. I have been getting death threats.”

But his statement was cut short by Mank, who told the judge “we’ll handle that.”

Gallagher is due back in court June 30 for a preliminary hearing, according to court records.

He remained free on bond Thursday.

This story was originally published June 16, 2016 at 1:37 PM with the headline "Man charged with child endangerment in octopus case."