LYNNWOOD — An infant with broken legs and serious eye injuries likely was a victim of abuse, doctors say.
The 4-month-old Lynnwood boy was brought to the hospital Jan. 9. The boy’s caretaker said the child slipped out of his arms.
Doctors thought worse.
The physicians said the injuries “are highly correlated with inflicted injury, that is physical child abuse,” according to a police affidavit filed Friday in Everett District Court.
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested a Lynnwood man, 32, who lives with the mother and considers the child his adopted son, spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
The man told police he had accidentally dropped the child and brought him to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, the court document said.
That’s when officials with the Providence Intervention Center for Assault and Abuse called police to investigate.
Hospital officials weren’t convinced the man was telling the truth, the document said.
The baby was transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where doctors also said the baby likely had suffered abuse.
The child has since been released from the hospital and now is doing fine, Hover said.
The man told investigators he is diabetic and sometimes suffers “poor judgement” when his blood sugar is low, the document said. He allegedly told police he likely was reckless with the child, possibly a result of a diabetic episode.
The baby’s mother told investigators she had found unexplained bruises on the child in the past, the document said.
The man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of second-degree assault of a child.
A judge Friday released the man on his own recognizance. The man was ordered to surrender his passport and not to have contact with minors.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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