Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara is pictured at a news conference in Albany.

New legislation introduced this week in the state Assembly would have meant a more serious charge in the death of a Jamestown toddler.

Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Schenectady, is proposing in A.10066 that manslaughter crimes that result in the death of a child should be upgraded to class A-1 felonies. Currently, manslaughter resulting in a child’s death is treated only as a Class B or Class C felony, depending on if it is a first- or second-degree charge, without differentiation from adult deaths. Upgrading the charge to a Class A-1 felony would mean such cases receive the maximum sentence under New York guidelines.

Santabarbara said his bill is the result of a Schenectady case in which a 5-year-old girl died from starvation. Her father was charged with second-degree manslaughter, a class C felony, and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

“This bill is aimed at toughening penalties for manslaughter resulting in the death of a child,” Santabarbara wrote in his legislative justification. “The proposed legislation seeks to elevate such crimes to Class A-1 Felonies, aligning them with murder offenses and carrying the heaviest sentencing. The initiative stems from the heartbreaking case of Charlotte Buskey, a vibrant 5-year-old girl who tragically died from starvation in her Elmer Avenue home in Schenectady. Charlotte’s father, Robert Buskey, faced charges of second-degree manslaughter, classified as only a Class C felony, along with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.”

While the circumstances are different, the result will be the same as the Schenectady case for a Jamestown man accused of second-degree manslaughter charges after an investigation into the death of a 16-month-old child in mid-April. Jamestown police were notified April 15 of a suspicious death of a child that occurred April 13 in the city. An investigation showed Matthew E. Nuttall, 25, allegedly caused the death of a 16-month-old child by blunt force trauma. Nuttall was charged April 17 with second-degree manslaughter and was arraigned April 18 by Judge George Panebianco before being sent to the Chautauqua County Jail on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million property bond.

According to District Attorney Jason Schmidt, Nuttall had a romantic relationship with the infant’s mother and lived with them. He is not the child’s biological father.

“He was essentially providing childcare while she was working. He got frustrated because the baby was crying and eventually, actually, forcibly slammed the baby down onto the ground,” Schmidt said.

The baby’s head allegedly hit a Pack-and-Play portable crib and the child’s spinal cord was severed, which caused the child’s death, according to Schmidt.

Jamestown police officers are working with the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office, the Chautauqua County Coroner’s Office and the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office so the case can be heard by a Chautauqua County Grand Jury, where further charges are likely to be presented, including upgrading the charge to first-degree manslaughter.

“This bill ensures that those responsible for neglect or abuse leading to the death of a child must face the toughest penalties and full accountability under the law,” Santabarbara wrote.