KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A man accused of leaving his son in a hot car in August, leading to the 3-year-old’s death, went before a judge for the first time Wednesday.

Chad Martin, 36, of Athens, Michigan, appeared in a Kalamazoo courtroom via video linkup from the county jail to be arraigned on a count of leaving a child in a vehicle causing death.

The toddler was discovered dead in Martin’s SUV on the afternoon of Aug. 13 at a Family Fare in Vicksburg. The death was believed to have been the result of prolonged heat exhaustion, with the temperature that day higher than 80 degrees.

“There is nothing the criminal justice system can do to him that is not going to be worse than what he already feels about what happened. He’s been beside himself since this happened,” Martin’s defense attorney Caleb Grimes said. “He is looking forward to getting back to his family helping in any way going forward, but again, he has been upset about this and has been heartbroken about this ever since it happened.”

Martin’s wife was in court to show her support for him.

“She wants him home. She wants him with the family. She wants him to get any work so he can support them,” Grimes said. “The fact that she is in his corner, I think/ speaks a lot to Mr. Martin, to what he is going through and what he is willing to do to make this right.”

Before arraignment, Kalamazoo County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Williams said this is the first case of its type that he has tried.

“These situations are a tragedy,” he acknowledged.

But, he said, state law is clear in such cases.

“In prior years, this may have been charged with a general child abuse case, but recently, the Legislature has enacted laws which specifically say that it is against the law to leave a child in a vehicle where harm might come to them,” he said. “The Legislature is also very clear in that they made this case a general intent crime. That means it doesn’t matter what your intentions were. We don’t have to prove that someone had a malicious intent or was trying to harm the child. In fact, they generally in these cases just have forgotten about the child rather than wanting to harm them.”

Police reports from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office obtained by News 8 show Martin told investigators nothing was different about the family’s routine the day his son died. He said he wasn’t running late, had been sleeping normally and doesn’t use sleeping aids or recreational drugs or drink.

“I guess I went straight to work,” the report says he told investigators when he was interviewed.

Martin arrived at his job at a plant in Brady Township, just outside of the Vicksburg limits, around 6:40 a.m., the reports show. He left around 3 p.m. and then stopped by the Family Fare. He was inside for a few minutes and when he came out, he realized his son was still in the car, buckled into in a rear-facing car seat in the driver’s side back seat. The boy was dead by then.

Data compiled by advocacy group Kids and Car Safety says 29 children have died in hot cars nationwide so far this year.

“Our message to parents is to use extra care, even if you’re watching this thinking, ‘I am not the type of person that this could ever happen to,'” Williams said. “It happens to people, and I think almost by definition, this is the kind of thing that happens as an oversight, not malicious intent. So be aware.”

Grimes noted to the court that his client has cooperated with the investigation, turned himself in Wednesday morning and has no criminal history. The judge agreed it was unlikely that Martin was a flight risk and allowed his release on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.

If convicted, Martin faces up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. His next hearings are scheduled for Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.

“Children, obviously, I think, are the most vulnerable demographic in our society and I think the Legislature is doing everything that they believe is right to hold people responsible for certain situations, but at the same time, there is a guideline range for everybody. There is a max statutory for everybody that is charged with this crime, and I think the individual circumstances are going to have the most to do with what type of punishment there is in this case,” Williams said.