Charges against a Lealman firefighter and paramedic who was arrested for child abuse have been dropped.

  • Jeremy Graham was arrested in October 2015
  • The former "Paramedic of the Year" was charged with child abuse
  • Those charges have been dropped; his son had a seizure which caused brain bleeding

Jeremy Graham is a former "Paramedic of the Year."

He was arrested last October after Pinellas Park police officers were called to a hospital where Graham's 4-month-old son was being treated. Graham and his wife, Vivianna, said the accusations tore their family.

They said they want to speak out to raise awareness about medical conditions that can be mistaken for child abuse.

"When I got accused, I was scared to go out of my house, I was scared to go my local Publix, I was scared to go to my local gym, I was ashamed," said Graham.

The couple said they were at home with their son, Tristian, when the baby had a seizure.

"The only thing I was thinking of was "Is my child ok?", That's the only thing," said Graham.

They called an ambulance and Tristian was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain bleed. It was his second trip to the ER.

"We just thought they were trying to figure out what was wrong with him. We later found out every test they ran on him was to prove that it was child abuse," said Vivianna.

Several days later, Jeremy was arrested for aggravated child abuse. Investigators said he was taking care of the child at the time. While the case was under investigation, he was only allowed short, supervised visits with his son and the couple had to live apart for nearly 8 months.

"I lost moments, precious months, milestones, first words, first babbling, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's," said Graham.

The couple said they tried to have a baby for three or four years and went through two rounds of IVF. The separation was devastating.

"I mean, he's my world," said Vivianna.

The Graham's hired their own medical experts who determined that Tristian had a chronic medical condition that likely caused the bleeding.

Those two doctors wrote they "found no evidence that he was a victim of child abuse."

"Basically they called it 'smoking guns.' Basically that I was accused for no reason," said Jeremy Graham.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri could not comment about the Graham case specifically, but he said Child Protection Investigators with his office are obligated to look into families when allegations are made. He said it's a lengthy process and that many people weigh in on each case.

"There is a whole bunch of eyes on every single case. There are multiple levels, multiple reviews," said Sheriff Gualtierei. "We don't take any of this lightly. The safety of children is our top priority."

The State Attorneys office decided not to move forward with the case, and the criminal charges against Graham were dropped.

In June, he was allowed to live with his wife and son again full-time.

"I was really scared of losing my bond with him but immediately I could tell that we didn't," said Graham. "It was just great to hold him in my arms again, it really was."

The couple said they are focused on moving forward but that the experience left a scar.

"It will always be with me," he added. "I'll always be the person that got accused of child abuse. I think and that's just the way it is. I'll just have to deal with it."

They said Tristian is healthy and happy and hasn't had any other medical issues.

The Graham's said they have filed paperwork to contest the investigators findings of child abuse.