The man accused of hitting and pulling out the teeth of a 4-year-old autistic boy in his care has waived his formal arraignment in Montgomery County Court, according to court records.

                Nicholas Kernechel, 27, formerly of the 200 block of Main Street in East Greenville, was scheduled to be video arraigned Nov. 25 from Montgomery County Prison, where he remains on $100,000 cash bail.  According to court documents, Kernechel's lawyer, Patrick McMenamin Jr., waived that proceeding on his behalf Friday.  His next court date has not yet been set.

                Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman is prosecuting the case.

                Kernechel, who now lists a home address as Coopersburg, was allegedly babysitting his girlfriend's son at the East Greenville apartment July 18 when he assaulted the boy and extracted three of his teeth, leaving the boy with severe facial and dental injuries, according to court papers filed by Montgomery County Detectives and Upper Perk Police.

                Police said the boy's mother left Kernechel, who lived in the apartment, to care for the 4-year-old boy around 10 p.m.  After she returned home, she went to bed and found the boy injured, on the floor, around 9 a.m. the next morning, according to court papers. 

                She took him to the Upper Perk Police station, authorities said, and he was then transported by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital for his injuries.

                Cauffman previously said there was a history of alleged abuse between Kernechel and the boy, dating back to at least April.

                Officials from the Montgomery County District Attorney's office wouldn't comment on what events they believe led to the July assault.

                Kernechel was charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault and aggravated assault of a child, along with two counts of endangering the welfare of children, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and false reports to law enforcement.