Father of missing boy faces new charges

Calvin Melvin charged with child neglect in son's disappearance

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Prosecutors filed new charges against a man whose son was last seen in July 2011.

Calvin Melvin, Jr., was originally charged with three counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. Prosecutors filed two charges of child neglect against Melvin on Friday.

Prosecutors allege Melvin failed to make a reasonable effort to check on his son Dontrell, failed to care for him, and "...in doing so caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to [Dontrell]..."

"Calvin is very sad, obviously," said defense attorney Ed Hoeg. "He's totally -- he's tortured by the fact that his son is deceased."

Hoeg added there was no evidence of neglect in records he had seen.

"I'm a bit surprised," he said.

Dontrell Melvin was last seen when the boy was six months old. Melvin and the boy's mother, Brittney Sierra, are both charged in connection with their son's disappearance. Sierra is charged with child neglect resulting in bodily harm.

A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy discovered the boy was missing while investigating an unrelated child neglect case on Jan. 9.

Police say Melvin and Sierra blamed each other for the child's disappearance, but both told detectives where to find the child. Remains were found buried in the back yard of a home the couple rented in Hallandale Beach.

"I will tell you that I'm not going to try the case in the media. That's for the attorneys to handle," said Hallandale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy. "I will tell you we are actively investigating."

According to the Hallandale Beach Police Department, a University of North Texas DNA analysis report found "genetic data are approximately 31.2 trillion times more likely to be observed under the scenario that the unidentified remains originated from a biological child of Brittney J. Sierra and Calvin Melvin Jr. as opposed to the unidentified remains originating from an unrelated individual from any of the three major U.S. population groups."

"We're still waiting on the medical examiner to give us a ruling as to cause to the manner of death and as to the cause of death," said Flournoy. "We haven't reviewed that yet from the medical examiner."

The remains police found had blunt trauma injuries, according to Hallandale Beach police reports. But the reports indicate the injuries were caused by police officers during the recovery process.

Melvin is scheduled to be arraigned April 5.