TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A 57-year-old man was arrested after Titusville police said he held a house party for a large gathering of teens that ended with one partygoer getting badly beaten and hospitalized with a traumatic head injury, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
Titusville police charged Robert William Kirk with eight counts of child abuse, aggravated child neglect without great harm, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and open house party after police were called at 2:20 a.m. Saturday to a home in the 4000 block of Sugar Maple Court, reports showed.
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The injured man, found bloodied and lying in the roadway with a gaping wound in the back of his head, was airlifted to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. He was listed in critical condition with a life-threatening injury, police reported over the weekend.
There were no other adults in the home at the time. Officers found a sign on the front door indicating a party inside the home, along with two posters describing rules for the gathering and a drinking game.
Officers searched the home, identifying children, teens and young adults.
Alcohol also was located throughout the home, along with strobe and black lights. There was even a chart for color-coded drinking cups, reports showed.
It was not immediately known why Kirk was the host of the gathering but police said it was a "lack of supervision" that led to the head injury to the young adult flown to the hospital. Kirk was booked into the Brevard County Jail Complex and posted a $20,000 bond.