An Oregon father allegedly watched his two-year-old son walk out the door of their home but was busy 'binge watching' a television show and failed to stop him, according to court documents.
Aaron Paulsen is facing misdemeanor child neglect charges in connection with the drowning death of his young son, Dane Paulsen, last year. In court documents obtained by KATU, prosecutors claim Dane's mother, Cha Met Jackson, told Aaron that Dane would be in his care when she left the house on March 1, 2025, in the rural community of Siletz.
However, Aaron 'watched Dane walk out the back sliding glass door alone,' later telling police he had been 'binge watching' television at the time. Meanwhile, Cha Met allegedly told authorities she had heard her son knocking on the door of the trailer she was in on the property and thought, 'Oh s**t, the baby's out.' Prosecutors say she did not open the door and instead continued to 'clean up inside.'
In total, 15 minutes passed before the parents noticed he was missing, according to the Lincoln Chronicle. As authorities searched for the young boy, they found a toddler's footprint at the edge of the river near the couple's house and a toy his parents said he had been playing with prior to his disappearance.
Nearly 100 certified search and rescue members were enlisted to comb the Siletz River and acres of forested land for the toddler. Several law enforcement agencies joined the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office in the investigation, including the Oregon State Police, Lincoln City Police Department, Newport PD, FBI, and Siletz Valley Fire. Four watercrafts, 13 divers, four drones, six canines, and 40 investigators were used before Dane's remains were found by volunteer diver Juan Heredia in the Siletz River, about three miles downstream of the boy's home.
Court documents now claim both Aaron and Cha Met were 'aware that Dane loved the water, was not fearful of the water, but did not know how to swim.' Aaron was ultimately indicted by a grand jury in October and pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of child neglect the following month. He was released under the condition that he is restricted from being present around unsupervised children under the age of five.
The court documents also detail how one of Aaron and Cha Met's previous neighbors once called police to report that the elder daughter was also a victim of child neglect. The neighbor 'reported that it was not uncommon' for Dane's older sister 'to be left outside playing in the yard or street unsupervised for 30 to 60 minutes as a toddler.' Another report was filed by a teenager who came across Dane standing on Highway 229 in September 2024, wearing 'only a diaper and a blue sweater.' Prosecutors now plan to call 20 witnesses at Aaron's upcoming trial.
