Inset: Michael Torres (Lancaster County DA’s Office). Background: The street in Pennsylvania where Torres allegedly broke a 3-year-old’s leg (Google Maps).
A 27-year-old man in Pennsylvania is facing felony criminal charges after he allegedly beat a 3-year-old child because the boy “wouldn’t go to sleep,” reportedly hitting the child with such force that he broke and dislocated the victim’s femur.
Michael Torres was taken into custody and charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, Torres “is accused of breaking and displacing the victim’s femur by hitting him multiple times.”
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
The investigation began on the morning of July 20, when officers with the Lancaster City Police Department responded to Lancaster General Hospital after receiving a request for a welfare check.
The nursing staff at the hospital notified authorities that a 3-year-old boy had been admitted to the facility and was believed to be the victim of child abuse, York, Pennsylvania, Fox affiliate WPMT reported. The abuse allegedly took place earlier in the day at a home located in the 500 block of High Street, which is about 80 miles west of Philadelphia.
The hospital nursing staff suspected that Torres was the assailant, per the release.
When police questioned Torres about the cause of the child’s injuries, prosecutors said he responded by “admitting to having struck the victim three to four times,” adding that the strikes were “really hard.” Torres continued, allegedly telling police that he hit the 3-year-old “out of anger and frustration that the victim wouldn’t go to sleep.”
At one point during the assault, Torres reportedly exclaimed, “I’m going to give him something to cry about,” referring to the victim.
Torres late last month waived his preliminary hearing before County Magisterial District Judge Adam J. Witkonis, meaning that his case will now proceed to county court. Such a proceeding would have required prosecutors to present sufficient evidence showing probable cause that the defendant committed the crime with which he is charged. A date for Torres’ next court appearance was not immediately available.
Torres has remained in detention at the Lancaster County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail since his initial arrest.
