FOX6 News in Milwaukee reported in October that Powell admitted burning the boy, whose name is Melo, and agreed with a detective that the burns were torture.
"That little (expletive) like fire," Powell said, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the news station.
Harrell wrote on Facebook that Powell is the brother of Dariaz Higgins, a Milwaukee man accused of shooting Sierra Robinson, the mother of his daughter 2-year-old daughter March 11, 2019, outside an apartment complex before fleeing with the girl. Robinson, 24, died at the scene.
The pair’s daughter, Noelani Robinson, was the subject of an Amber Alert. She was found dead of blunt force trauma along a Minnesota highway four days after her abduction. Higgins, who was arrested at a Milwaukee hotel, is being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
WDJT in Milwaukee reported following Powell's arrest that sources close to the family identified the two men as half-brothers.
Powell’s two sentences were designated to be served consecutively, meaning one after the other. Court records show Powell was granted credit for 159 days already served in the Milwaukee County Jail.
He will be eligible to participate in the Wisconsin Substance Abuse Program after serving eight years. When released, he will serve five years extended supervision, the records show.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a criminal complaint filed Sept. 30, 2019, indicated Melo's father took him to the emergency room at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin after picking his son up from Powell, who was caring for him, and finding patterned burns on his son's cheek, armpit, chest and stomach.
"When I saw the burns, it was a bunch of different emotions," Melo's father, George Harrell, told FOX6 News in Milwaukee. "I was in a rage. I was angry. I was hurt. I was sad."
A child abuse pediatrician at the hospital recognized the burns as coming from a cigarette lighter.
"Dr. (Judy) Guinn stated that the injuries (and a subsequent delay in seeking care) placed (the victim) at risk for infection and permanent scarring, the full extent of which will not be known for at least several weeks to months, or possibly longer," the complaint stated, according to the Journal Sentinel.
Guinn "further stated that the burns would have been extremely painful when they occurred and would have continued to cause significant pain and discomfort until medical treatment and pain management were initiated," the newspaper reported.
The complaint stated that Powell and the boy's mother, Jawarria Addarr, have a child together. According to FOX6 News, Powell was watching both children Sept. 21, 2019, while Addarr, then 23, was doing laundry at her mother's house.
Powell became angry when Addarr would not answer her cellphone, according to court records. He responded by burning Melo repeatedly with the lighter.
The news station reported in October that Addarr told police she didn't notice her son's burns until the following day, despite the burns on his face. Photos Harrell shared on Facebook show some of the burns on his son's body.
Harrell wrote in the Facebook post that he did not want Powell around Melo.
“There were supposedly several people in the house when this happened. I forbade her to take him around this person and I had no clue he was there,” Harrell wrote.
The photos of Melo's injuries were blurred by Facebook for showing violence against a child. Click here to see the photos, which may be too graphic for some readers.
Addarr told investigators Powell “became defensive and denied involvement” when she asked him about the wounds.
Credit: Milwaukee County Jail
Credit: Milwaukee County Jail
Harrell told the Journal Sentinel he found out about the injuries after Melo's maternal grandmother, who was babysitting the day after he was burned, refused to give the boy back to Addarr because she did not believe her daughter's story about how her grandson was injured. The grandmother said if Addarr didn't tell Harrell what happened, then she would.
Harrell said he called 911 and had police officers meet him at the grandmother's home because he was afraid of what he might do after seeing his son's burns. He said he immediately took the boy to the emergency room, the newspaper reported.
Addarr, who was charged with child neglect, pleaded guilty in January. She was sentenced to a year in jail, with the sentence suspended, and placed on two years' probation, according to court records.
Harrell told FOX6 News that the extent of the abuse his son suffered will never be truly known.
“I don’t think we’ll ever know because I don’t think he’ll acknowledge it,” Harrell said.
He told the Journal Sentinel that Addarr claimed Powell was forcing her into prostitution and holding Melo hostage. Harrell was granted full custody of the boy and he said he would try to have Addarr's parental rights taken away.
A judge denied him a temporary restraining order against Addarr on Oct. 30.
Harrell also said he wanted legislators to pass a specific child torture law that would require defendants to serve mandatory minimum sentences.
"You can lose your temper, or have a bad day and commit abuse; that doesn't make you a bad person," Harrell said, according to the newspaper. "But to intentionally torture a child, that's a different mindset."
Following Powell's sentencing, Harrell wrote on Facebook that he had mixed feelings about the length of the sentence. Though 10 and a half years is a long time, he said, he felt "blindsided" by the prosecutors because he anticipated a longer sentence. The most serious felony charge Powell faced, mayhem, was dismissed as part of the plea deal, according to court records.
Harrell pointed out that the sentence was handed down on the prosecutor’s second-to-last day with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
"Do I feel it's enough (time)? Nah! I figured 15-20 yrs of incarceration was more appropriate," Harrell wrote. "I am at a loss of words but I know it's time to move on. I can not live in these feelings any longer and I must close this chapter of 'Justice for Melo.'"
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